Accident Route Matrix Does the Accident Route Matrix (ARM) have a place in understanding avalanche incidents? In this blog we look at systems based incident analysis. These methods look at all the causal factors in incidents far beyond the “who triggered it” strategy of individual decision making. There are lots of tools for assessing the Human Factors (HF) that contribute to incidents. The Accident Route Matrix (ARM) provides a graphical representation of the route to the incident. This is really useful to highlight Human Factors issues in avalanche incidents, especially for those who just wa ..read more

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the loss of Super Puma G-WNSB on the approach to Sumburgh (Shetland) with four fatalities. Although the Mountain Assurance blog is really about the mountains, this tragic incident is important for a couple of reasons. The human factors elements of the incident such as task management in challenging weather conditions, can sometimes be found in incidents in the mountains. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) took two different approaches to modelling the human factors elements of the incident. Both of which reached similar conclusions. The crew of ..read more

Human Factors – Change the person or the context? Procedures that we don’t always follow, even if we should. After incidents and near misses in the outdoors much of the conversation around learning from these events is focused on the performance of the instructor or guide concerned. I recognise that as normal, in that the instructor or guide is often closest to the incident and may even consider themselves directly responsible as an autonomous practitioner. Having delivered a few human factors and decision making workshops for the Association of Mountaineering Instructors (AMI), many of those ..read more

Alison shouted AVALANCHE, as the wet slide exited the hidden couloir well above us. The volume seemed to build exponentially until the snow hit the frozen lake below. Breaking the ice, the debris started a tidal wave across the lakes surface. Seconds earlier we had faced a “go or no go” decision. We were fully committed, around three quarters into a 40 kilometre ski tour. To add to the pressure we had a flight to catch out of Tromsø the following day. The day had started innocently enough with the aim to explore the Jiehkkevárri massif on Lyngen. Our plan to circumnavigate the highest summit ..read more

1:x What’s in a mountain guiding ratio? 1:1, 1:2 Cultural norms, local customs, regulation and why small ratio groups are more important than you think. The situation I found myself in was suboptimal. ‘Tower Ridge’ is normally climbed roped up, with one or two clients per instructor or guide, using the techniques of short-roping and short-pitching. On this occasion it was rapidly getting dark, and the weather was deteriorating. The sideways gusts providing a relentless blast of icy pellets into the side of my face. ‘Tower Ridge’ on Ben Nevis had provided a suitable challenge. The client neares ..read more

With the first snow on the Cairngorms now is a good time to talk about the launch of Mountain CRM. This online course is an introduction to ‘Crew Resource Management’ and ‘Human Factors’ in Avalanche Terrain. You can find this course over on the Mountain Assurance Teachable site at https://mountain-assurance.teachable.com/p/mountain-crm. You will learn how to understand human vulnerabilities. Develop strategies to help make the right decisions and improve safety when working in avalanche terrain. Mountain CRM The content has been written by myself, James Thacker. We all can make mistakes. Moun ..read more

MOVE, MOVE, MOVE, we pushed forwards in towards the cliff as we were hit by the air blast. Pelted by chunks of snow I wrapped my arms around my head and waited either for the avalanche, or my life, to end… Moments before I was gearing up at the bottom of the classic ice climb ‘Vermicelli’. I was looking up at pretty much fifty metres of vertical ice. Named after a thin strip of pasta, I could see the resemblance, the narrow smear of ice was aesthetic as well as compelling. It Sounded Like an Avalanche… There was a loud crack of trees snapping on the hillside above. Andy and I looked briefly ..read more

I levelled the wings and pointed the glider back towards the tarmac triangle of the three runways. The uncomfortable truth of my situation was glaring back at me. Attentional narrowing meant there was a good chance I might not make it back to the airfield… The day had started as a normal but mediocre gliding day over the flat fields of Staffordshire, but as I was having a conversation with the aero-tow pilot the radio burst into life with some talk of thermal lift close to the airfield.  An essential skill of glider flight is the ability to seek out lift to remain airborne, especially g ..read more

A personal description of the journey to climb the six classic north faces of the alps. ‘The Marine’ opened the conversation quietly but confidently, stating that we should start our alpine climbing career by climbing the six alpine North Faces. I agreed. For the uninitiated, as was I at this point, “the six” include: The Eiger, Matterhorn, Grandes Jorasses, Petit Dru, Piz Badile and Cima Grande di Lavaredo. Not only did I agree, but I suggested that we could easily knock them off easily before we were thirty… “No problem” said ‘the Marine’. Because of course when you are sixteen, and have do ..read more

While Mountain Assurance was preparing to launch ‘Mountain CRM’, we decided to share this short audio interview with Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter pilot Graham Stein. I know many of you have been waiting for ‘Mountain CRM’ and this online course is available now via the Mountain Assurance Teachable site. Despite the additional time available due to successive lockdowns and travel restrictions Mountain CRM took a while to put together. Winter is now coming and there is no better time to train you brain for avalanche terrain. Graham Stein and ‘Rescue Bond One’ Image: Stein CollectionAn inte ..read more