{"id":2060,"date":"2014-11-19T14:53:12","date_gmt":"2014-11-19T22:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=2060"},"modified":"2018-11-11T22:29:27","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T06:29:27","slug":"strengthening-pre-season-backcountry-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/strengthening-pre-season-backcountry-brain","title":{"rendered":"Strengthening Your Pre-Season Backcountry Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every season around this time\u2014often sooner\u2014we start dreaming about winter. Before long, our dreams turn into plans, and plans become reality. This evolution from office-time daydreaming in the fall to shredding wintertime powder is a process that we shouldn\u2019t take lightly, and it rarely is, especially when it comes to our gear.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a backcountry snowshoer, skier or rider, odds are you already prep for the coming snow. It\u2019s good practice to prep for your season by changing the batteries in your avalanche beacon, getting your skis\/board tuned, dialing-in your pack and other gear, and maybe you\u2019re even sweating away in a conditioning class at your gym. Volumes of enlightening articles have pontificated about this pre-season ritual\u2014both print and online.<\/p>\n

But what about a tune-up of your brain? Getting your brain thinking in the right way about traveling through the winter backcountry is often overlooked. If you are a backcountry enthusiast, you probably remember your first avalanche class instructor telling you that the gear between your ears was the best tool for avoiding avalanches. (Or maybe you have yet to take this class\u2014if that\u2019s the case, first thing\u2019s first, let\u2019s get you enrolled in a class before you head out.\u00a0Resources at the bottom.) But, if you\u2019re like most people frequenting the backcountry, you\u2019ve probably had some kind of formal training along the line.\u00a0That\u2019s great, and crucial, but since you took that first class, what else have you been doing to keep your most important tool\u2014your brain, a.k.a. your backcountry compass\u2014tuned, and your decision-making processes strong? Simply logging days in the backcountry does not suffice as experience enough to keep you safe.\u00a0Yes, that experience is super valuable, but without linking our specific personal experiences with the experiences of others through education and training, we\u2019re too prone to making decisions in a bubble.<\/p>\n

Your decision-making process is the most critical tool in your backcountry kit.<\/p>\n

As you make choices in the backcountry, you should be constantly challenging yourself with questions like: What\u2019s wrong with how I made that choice? What was my metric for analyzing my decision? Because I wasn\u2019t caught in an avalanche, does that mean I made good decisions?\u00a0Or was it luck? What percentage was luck and what was experience?\u00a0Questions like these help turn our days experience into valuable<\/i> lifelong experience. And this sort of questioning is something that seasoned professionals ask of themselves after every day in the backcountry.<\/p>\n

One of the best ways to strengthen your decision-making process and mitigate gaps within it is to have process in place that you adhere to\u2014and to continually educating and re-educate yourself.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s long been understood in our industry that regular training is a key component to avoiding avalanches.\u00a0In fact, in a paper written by avalanche guru Dale Atkins in the late 90s, he outlines the stark contrast between having an avalanche professional rescue you and a recreationalist.\u00a0The point being, with their routine training, continued education and consistent practice, professionals are far more prepared to rescue you successfully than your buddy, who doesn\u2019t have that experience and constant training. The same can be translated to any action or decision in the backcountry\u2014the more you practice and the more you train, the more prepped you are to handle an issue properly.<\/p>\n

Sure, a lot has changed with beacon technology since Atkins\u2019 paper was published, but the key takeaway still holds true: training, both physical and mental<\/i>, is imperative to your chances of survival.<\/p>\n

So what you can do? Train like a pro.<\/p>\n

We spend countless hours training to be a better triathlete, a more proficient employee, or a top student.\u00a0So why not a smarter, safer better backcountry traveler? While we go to the mountains in the winter for myriad reasons, we can probably agree that we do so to feel better and learn about ourselves.<\/p>\n

At NWAC<\/a>, our field staff<\/a> average\u00a0over 10 years of professional experience that includes at least of 100 days of formal training. Each year, they complete around six days of training and spend about 120 days on the snow\u2026 And all that experience still doesn\u2019t make them completely infallible. The backcountry is a dynamic environment\u2014always changing.<\/p>\n

First, you can start thinking like a pro.\u00a0Here are three easy-to-implement tips to dial-in your BC game:<\/p>\n