via The Denver Post ... ISSW with behavior therapists, psychologists, neurologists ... elevating decision making as a pillar of avalanche safety. And along comes Instagram ...
https://www.denverpost.com/2016/10/1...-social-media/
via The Denver Post ... ISSW with behavior therapists, psychologists, neurologists ... elevating decision making as a pillar of avalanche safety. And along comes Instagram ...
https://www.denverpost.com/2016/10/1...-social-media/
I blame Jerry of the Day and Greg from AlpineZone, with his antics
Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
It's too bad someone's 3 minute GoPro edit would influence your go/no go decision, but I can see how it would happen.
So many famous videos these days are from big, steep, feature loaded lines on a deep, coastal snowpack are something that 99% of us never find ourselves on top of.
Folks don't always think that small gully, real loose tree run, that 35 degree bowl, are going to kill them, but those are the ones that do.
The type of terrain you'd run into on Berthoud, Vail, the Cottonwoods, Park City ridge sidecountry, that's the kind of stuff that needs to be emphasized in responsible decision making.
I'm not seeing it in the Colorado backcountry. Maybe at the typical junk show spots like Loveland Pass but otherwise people here are respectfully scared of our snowpack.
Now I know it douchey to call people out on the interwebz. But it's shit like this that drives me up the wall.
https://www.instagram.com/p/65WR-OnB...onkeelan&hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/6agdfpHB...onkeelan&hl=en
For those who aren't familiar this is the "favorite cornice" in east vail that is being referred to
http://avalanche.state.co.us/caic/ac...=518&accfm=inv
Interesting to think about.
Summit has long talked on here about "cameras" being another heuristic trap. It's been a problem for a long time but the ease of sharing via Instagram, Facebook, etc. does amplify it IMO.
It also can be thought of as an extension of the "tracks" heuristic. You see someone posting photos of a certain line (or type of terrain) and you think "oh, it must be stable."
It's very hard to measure how much this happens, but I'm positive it does, in CO and elsewhere.
That said, I do think the professional and recreational backcountry community is doing something right. Backcountry useage has skyrocketed over the past 10-15 years, yet the # of fatalities per year has remained fairly constant. Difficult to measure because the number of user days is not well recorded, but the fatality per user day rate appears to be going way, way down.
^^^ I'd agree with all of that. Especially the part where an Instagram photo= tracks. But the photo has far more reach. Remember that crew on Gothic last year? Skiing the E face of Gothic in February is kind of a big deal, and that crew was pretty new. But they saw my Instagram photo, drove down from Boulder, and skied it. I'm not sure what I think about that. I could care less that another group is out there having fun. But I do wonder if they skipped a few steps on the learning curve.
Interesting - I didn't realize that group had seen your IG photo. I'm not going to assume anything about anyone's knowledge or experience level or decision making process but I certainly got the vibe that they were relatively green as well.
Something I'm going to resolve to do in my own social media this year is post more avy stuff in with the stoke. A photo of a snowpit, a quick blurb about the decision making process, plug a couple FOBP classes, etc. I don't have a big following but if it makes a difference with one person it's worth it.
People are stupid and for some reason stupid people are lucky. Although I think it is a case of you can fuck up lots in avy terrain 90% of the time with no consequence, then you die. Adding the need to spew shit all over the interwebs to a bunch of narcissistic fuck wits and you end up with more lucky people. No sympathy for people that die with a selfie stick in their hand.
TGR ain't exactly a innocent space either. It is home to just as much self promotion in TR's and posts as anywhere else although the calling out of morans tends to be quick. Tags would make it quicker.
I did say typical junk show spots. My perspective is solid thanks. Ditto what AD said. FOBP intro classes are bursting at the seams. The word has been out to respect the snowpack in CO for a long time. There is a reason that other than park riding very few ski movies get filmed here. You can't just say fuck it and Huck it.
Yeah, on the skin out I was curious how they ended up there, and it came out while we were chatting. And they certainly may have had more experience than it seemed. Also, there were plenty of "green lights" out there, so it's not like they were making bad decisions.
As for sharing "safety" on social media, that's tough to accomplish. Yeah, you might take a photo of a pit. But the decision making process is more relevant, IMO. And that requires words. And words are hard on the internet these days. People are pretty programmed to scroll through IG and FB at a million miles an hour. Ain't no time for words.
FWIW, that slide zone is in the same area as the cornice, but that side (CDC/NBA) is significantly more prone to activity than the side where the cornice that people hit is located (Old Mans). Its still pretty dangerous, but it can be hit "safely" from time to time. Though if you're knocking off 18" of windslab, it probably isn't one of those times (duh?). People roll the dice out there a lot, and I think most of them don't even know it.
Sorry didn't mean to come off condescending. I agree that the majority of folks out there do respect the continental BS. But I think there are some out there that truly DON'T understand why TGR doesn't come here to film. To quote another great post from the questionable EV crowd "I just think to myself, you gotta fuckin send it." That one was referring to another path that's killed in the past.
For sure old mans is a little different, but.... in the grand scheme of things it's pretty close.
Exactly, there are some who just don't understand. Or just have drastically different risk tolerance than most of us. My only point being that the media influence (rad lines from safer snowpacks) is sometimes trying to be recreated here in Colorado in much more dangerous conditions, regardless of awareness or not
[namedrop]Ha! The guy quoted near the end of that article - Russ Costa - is a long time bc partner. Here's a pic of him I took on Sneffels:
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...IMG_2565-1.jpg
And on Moran:
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n...oransummit.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n.../firstturn.jpg
Good bc partner, for sure. [/namedrop]
#spancerskitipsselfiessuck
goldenbear shared this on the facebooks, and it was appropriate for this thread:
I've Been Lying - The Instagram Life - Adventure Journal
you shared bloggy urinal cake clickbait with your zuckerbitch friends
0/10 did not click
skifishbum = no sense of irony
TGR morally superior to the book of faces?
always was
always will be
summit=baitcutter
probably so, article linked by a mag is still relevant in this thread
Just slap some cornice and yell footy for mom, make sure to add hashtags. Instagrams hero.
There will always be idiots.
This is a really good thread guys. I'm fairly new to the backcountry but luckily I was brought into it by a someone who is very experienced and always puts safety first. Though I may be a greenhorn, I see the need for avy education rather than "getting footy for da boyz"
There's also the issue of where on social media people hang out. There's a desire to take nice photos or footage. There's also where someone discusses snow safety issues and gets input from. There are places on the web where people still get told to stick to skiing trees because it's safer there. The good sources of info aren't that hard to find, though, so the people reading do have the responsibility to choose wisely.
There was a great presentation at ISSW and again at WYSAW regarding teens and avalanche education. Social media is a huge part of teens lives so just something to look into.