It's a lot of responsibility for an amateur leader. Most of the challenge is to make intelligent terrain decisions throughout the day. That's obvious. I think we have enough knowledge of the area that under favourable conditions she (we) can do that. But when avalanche hazard is high and the visibility is poor, combined with a large and expectant group, the day has the potential to be stressful at best or to go pear shaped in a hurry at worst.
Realizing our limitations Brenda passed on responsibility for the trip to Sabina who is an ACMG assistant ski guide. She was happy to volunteer as an amateur leader for a couple of days.
Best. Decision. Ever.
First there was a Special Public Avalanche Warning issued for the weekend. Then a participant blew out her knee late on the first day and Sabina coordinated a helicopter extraction.
Above all we were grateful for Sabina's presence and to not be making the decisions. I'm not sure that we would have had the guts (presence of mind?) to call for a rescue. In the self-rescue scenario it would have been a long and drawn out operation that went well beyond nightfall. We had the resources but who knows how that would have played out for the victim? Or for the rest of the group doing the rescuing? Counter that against the risk taken on by the professional search and rescue personnel coming to our aid. Plus the cost. Is there an inherent responsibility for backcountry travellers to self-rescue in all but the most life threatening situations? Or should they use the system and resources available at their disposal when the need arises?
Every situation is different. In general we fall strongly into the latter camp. But having said that we also believe that the right decision was made in this case.
Definitely a learning experience. Went skiing. Took part in a rescue. Dug out a helicopter landing pad on the side of a hill. Learned that cell phones are good. Reaffirmed that VHF radios are good. Had philosophical discussions. It was an interesting day.
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