International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings · Sep 28 2014
Avalanche professionals have long debated human factors and nature of human error in avalanche incidents. But despite extensive research into the personal and psychological characteristics and group structures of individuals involved in avalanche incidents, our ability to understand the decisions and actions of backcountry user groups is limited. Could the avalanche profession be limiting itself? Years of experience working in avalanche terrain and a well-developed, extensive knowledge base can generate a bias against understanding how a ‘green’ (or at least a little less ‘grey’) recreationalist approaches a trip in the mountains and how context guides their actions. In this paper I will focus on improving understanding of the recreational user experience. To contrast the limitations of existing literature which focuses on failure analysis – ‘what went wrong’-I have taken an appreciative approach to provide insight into the characteristics and conditions inherent when things ‘go right’. This is a narrative-based social sciences approach to research describing the backcountry users in situ. By examining the human experience behind the human factor I will consider how context can lead to performance or loss in the field. I argue that human factors research that does not appreciate the human behind the construct is detrimental to developing intervention strategies that resonate with the intended audience.
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