Its that one lapse of judgement, hubby (who is a keen backcountry skier) loved what Cody Townsend said on one of his episodes of The Fifty ...."it takes a 100 yesses to get to the top and only 1 no to turn around". I guess this situation is where The Human Factor comes into play, I know questions are being asked about it in regards to the Japan incident. Very sad all round and I really feel for the poor parents.It is @AJM . It happened last year in Switzerland and the trial is coming up next month - probably why the Post picked it up. They did "almost" everything right, but one lapse in judgement ended up taking two young lives. The two guides are charged with negligent homicide which, in Switzerland, carries incarceration of up to 3 years and "some" monetary damages. Unlike the U.S., however, Swiss law does not allow for punitive damages which are, in many cases, the element that pushes monetary penalties very high in the U.S. The poor parents are unlikely to get sufficient damages to cover even the cost of their trip to collect their daughter's belongings.
In this case it seems the findings of the actual investigations into the incident question many simple concepts? I'm not sure that's rushing to any judgement so much as trying to understand why decisions were made that seem to go against some safety practices in the backcountry. I don't think anyone should be sue happy in these sorts of instances as there is a huge inherent risk to these activities that everyone is aware of, but as the guide you would be taking responsibility for the group and I do feel should be held to a certain standard and expected to follow an appropriate set of decision-making steps that are generally accepted as appropriate in backcountry travel. There are imbedded risks that everyone accepts in these activities, but when you are guiding and especially traveling with students, I think the bar should be set to a suitably high level and decision making should be scrutinized if there are red flags that other experts investigating the incident find concerning. Still, you can do everything right and get unlucky out there.. and unfortunately there will always be family who are so upset they lost their loved one that they need something to blame and punish.It is so easy for us to make judgments on the guides and people involved, and I always try to withhold judgment not being in the situation. This is tragic, and a huge reason why my husband and I always opt for low angle slopes and turn around often. We have friends who gang ski steep chutes here and I just feel one day we are going to lose one or more of them. They don't have any avy training, and I have refused to go out with them because they don't follow safety protocols. People criticize us for being overly safety-focused. yeah, they get to have al the fun, and I suppose that is something we are willing to give up in order to ski another day.
One reason I am a little hesitant to become a backcountry guide is the risk of being sued. These events are so unfortunate and deeply saddening, but I also completely understand the risks of going into the backcountry. I would love nothing more than to lead women's groups in the backcountry, but I also fear if something goes wrong, it all becomes my fault as the guide. Skiing in the backcountry is risky and dangerous. Any slope at any angle can slide no matter what anyone tells you. It is so costly to be a guide, the insurance alone, I just think maybe it's better to stick to being an instructor.
I see so much reckless behavior in the backcountry, and people get away with it time after time. If you consider this season so far in the US there have been 13 fatalities, including snowmobilers, of the million(s) of tours and trips, many people get very lucky.
This is such a sad story, and it seems like the rush to get another run in before the end of the year was just one more heuristic trap. I feel horrible for everyone involved, from the parents, the friends, the guides. Of course no one ever goes out wanting this to happen, and it seems the world lost a shining star, a huge loss for everyone including all of us.