Study Shows Small or Solo Groups Safer in BC

**blazes_boylan** · 03-27-2016, 02:29 PM

This really brought about an interesting discussion about group size, solo travel and associated issues. Its great to hear all these different perspectives. Thanks for them! Like so many issues in Avy safety, there is much nuance and gray areas that lack clear lines. I'm certainly not saying I agree with the study's hypothesis or that its results are far-reaching, but I do think it is interesting food for though. Certainly solo travel comes with many, many added risks and the lack of anyone else to save your butt in the case something goes wrong, but at the same time that slimmer (or non-existent) margin for error on solo missions also seems to cause educated and aware solo travelers to make more conservative choices than groups. For me, the biggest take away here is a reminder of just how powerful group dynamics and group think can be and how significantly they affect decision making. Is solo travel safer? smart?...like so many things it really depends on the specific circumstances.

**fluxrad** · 03-29-2016, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by AKbruin

Question for the masses: When you're skiing solo in an isolated area where you're unlikely encounter many if any other people, do you take a beacon and probe? On a solo multiday trip?

I generally don't with the caveat that I'm not going to go out solo to an isolated area when there's much avy risk. It's more of a weight/space issue, but I could see a reasonable argument on the other side that's better to be safe than sorry.

There was the new backcountry ethics blog that came out earlier this season. I think there was a quote in there — or in a similar post — that summed up my thought process nicely. To paraphrase: When you're in the backcountry you have a responsibility to be able to search, and to be searchable.

I carry B/S/P as a rule, solo or not. I don't think I could live with myself if I got asked to help find a burial and didn't have my gear with me because I was traveling solo. Similarly, I wouldn't want S&R to have to spend any more time than necessary to find me in the event that an unforeseen event did befall me. YMMV.