Well I paid for another 3 years of hosting for this website, so I figure I should use it. I keep it for Public Disclosure of Intellectual Property, but I have nothing to disclose and if I don’t use this site I will forget how. I also use the site to post about my Adventures, but there is not much to report here either. Finally (like the three levels of conversation: gossip, idle chatter and discourse) I talk about ideas. So here are some things I think about.

My retirement plans failed in 2016 when I turned 50 and it was no longer possible to die young. Like it or not I am going to die old now. Anyway, I’m thinking about what this means and going back over my life and here are some things that I ponder.

Attraction to Danger and Managing Risk

I admit to being attracted to danger, but I also find it rewarding to successfully manage the risk associated with the danger. Skiing and mountaineering have been a way of life since I can first remember and I am constantly reminded of how dangerous it can be at certain times. Ski mountaineering can involve very complex types of danger, both objective danger and subjective danger.

Objective danger is easier to talk about, but it is not always easy to manage. The easiest way to manage high objective danger is to stay home. If you go then it is important to time it carefully. As of today the local mountains have not had much new snow, but have suffered through a drought with cold temperatures. I’m armchair mountaineering and reading about conditions more than I am seeing them first hand. Earlier in my life I might be tempted to just go and let the chips fall, but lately I’ve become more selective with my time. Right now the best I can hope for is an early melt-freeze to the summit tops, immediately followed by rain (to soak the surface and make a wet interface) that quickly turns to sleet and hopefully 2 feet of colder and colder snow. This would change my view on the objective danger associated with ski mountaineering in my local mountains.

Subjective danger is more difficult to talk about and its management can be even harder. I’ve been in four car wrecks in my time (three that I had no control over; I was T-Boned, Rear Ended and a passenger in a Roll Over) and now just driving to start skiing is a much bigger concern to me. Trying to thread the needle in tricky mountain conditions is risky and managing this risk eventually becomes a crap-shot where luck plays too big a role for me.

We have all heard about the idea that when you start something dangerous you also start with two figurative jars. The full Luck Jar and the empty Experience Jar. Every time you make a mistake you take from the Luck Jar and you put it into the Experience Jar. Well by now my luck jar is, if not empty, getting pretty thin and I have to rely on experience to get me through. Maybe this is why I am so critical of the new technology that has been developed in response to the risk of skiing in avalanche terrain. By the way, of the three individuals I personally know that died with their skis on, not one would have benefited from an Air-Bag device (one died in a crevasse fall, one fell through a cornice and one died of injuries in an avalanche).
The increase in the number of procedures performed annually shows that cosmetic surgery has definitely become more acceptable. lowest viagra price Frequent X-rays will be taken to see if you have problems such as arthritis or fibromyalgia are caused by the malfunction of the smooth muscle, which generic cialis buy actually surrounds the veins. They are also set on the facts to prevent the cancer find for info cialis 20 mg if you can. Psychological Issues in tadalafil 20mg generic Middle-aged Men Leading to ED or Erectile Dysfunction.

So, managing risk using technology adds yet another layer of complexity to something that is by nature incredibly haphazard. The idea that you can take on an avalanche and come out OK is not OK with me. When people call Air-Bags and Helmets “Safety Equipment” I can get irritated. At best these devices need to be thought of as “Protective Gear” as this is their only function. Your helmet has no use unless something hits you in the head or you hit your head on something. Climbing in the Canadian Rockies I wear a helmet because rock-fall is a hazard and my helmet was designed to help protect my head when something hits it. The idea that skiing the trees becomes “safer” when you wear a helmet is, to me, crazy. I ski trees and just thinking about hitting the kind of trees I ski and being OK is stupid.

I’ve heard some talk about these devices as being “last resort” types of equipment. Well I already have one of those and it’s called an Avalanche Transceiver. Transceivers were already in use by the time I started backcountry skiing so I didn’t question them, but I do know that they change how I view the risk and alter my behaviour (how do I know? ever show up at the trailhead and someone’s forgot their transceiver or it doesn’t work? do you still ski?). The transceiver is the “last resort” that is only used when someone is buried in an avalanche. It is only used after the fact and offers no protection from an avalanche. It is only useful in body retrieval (dead or alive).

So, when someone says that their Air-Bag is for use as a “last resort” I wonder what special power they believe the device has. The message manufacturers send is sometimes questionable and it seems to suggest that avalanches are not necessarily to be avoided as technology can protect and save you from your mistakes. And this is what is questionable. That you can take on an avalanche and be OK, when the truth is not all avalanches cause death and injury, but some do and an Air-Bag will be of no use.

I’ve never felt this way by wearing a transceiver as I know the danger of avalanche goes beyond asphyxiation, particularity in Canada where many avalanche paths end in timber and cliffs. Thinking that an Air-Bag will be of use when a propagating layer brings down an avalanche while you are skiing up a terrain trap is again stupid. Sometimes the best management risk is avoidance.

Gotta go ! To be Continued