As the Washington Program Director for Northwest Outward Bound School, a ski, alpine and rock guide for North Cascades Mountain Guides, and North Cascades Heli -Skiing, Josh Cole has something to teach us all about preventing accidents while in the wilderness. He is also a lead instructor for the Wilderness Medicine Training Center, and has spent more than 15 years in outdoor education and guiding. He has presented at numerous Wilderness Risk Management Conferences and has taught and consulted on risk management for numerous organizations. Josh has an MSc. in Geology and loves to talk about rocks in his spare time! Josh will discuss risk management tools that mitigate compounding errors in group management. Most incidents in the wilderness are the result of small errors that compound to create a significant incident. Errors in judgment and decision making are significantly more likely in large groups, in groups with competing incentives, and in groups without clear leadership structure. While speaking with Mountaineers Leaders on September 13, 2014, Josh presented several discrete decision-making tools that allow leaders to better assess themselves, their participants and the risks of their activities so that they can create more robust and effective risk management plans.
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