Delivering Adventure

How should a leader communicate to people when they are under stress? One of the hardest situations that a leader can find themselves in, is managing a group that isn’t doing what the leader wants. It could be kids who forgot what their instructor told them, teenagers who are ignoring their teacher on purpose, or adults who misunderstood what their guide said. Regardless of the reason, these situations can be frustrating for leaders and can pose safety risks to everyone in dangerous situations.In this episode, CSGA Ski Guide Erin Tierney shares a stressful situation from her guiding career where the communication style she chose to use led to conflict with the group she was leading. Using this story, Chris and Jordy then share some strategies and discuss leadership communication styles that leaders can use to avoid conflict.Key TakeawaysLead with a soft touch: When we lead this way, we rely on gentle persuasion and selling to start. This can involve including people in decision making, subtlety guiding them towards choices you want them to make and generally being flexible and showing some tolerance for mistakes.Try to follow with a firm edge, instead of leading with one: If a soft touch doesn’t work, or there isn’t time to be polite, we may need to resort to a more autocratic, telling style.Explain why we want people to do certain things: When people understand why they are doing things a certain way, there is less chance of there being a misunderstanding or conflict.Taking ownership of the initial instructions: We need to remember that we can’t always just blame the receiver of the message if they don’t understand. We need to be aware of the fact that if people don’t understand or do what we want, we may not have communicated things as well as we could.People tend to remember the last thing they hear more than anything else: If we want people to focus on certain instructions, especially ones that relate to directions and safety, we need to position them last.Investigate why people did what they did: Avoid jumping to conclusions by taking time to investigate why people made the decisions they made.Guest LinksWhistler Heli-Skiing: https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/whistler-heli-skiing/whistler-heli-skiing.aspxCanadian Ski Guide Association: https://canskiguide.com/The Avalanche Hour Podcast with Erin Tierney: https://soundcloud.com/user-23585762/tah-erin-tierney-csga-10Guest BioErin is a certified CSGA ski guide and the current President of the Canadian Ski Guide Association. In addition, to guiding in the Heli-ski industry since 1999, Erin is also a guide trainer and examiner with the Canadian Ski Guide Institute. Erin currently works as the General manager of Whistler Heli-skiing.Erin has worked extensively with teams of guests and guides in a number of roles, which makes her a perfect person to give us some insights on being a leader!Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

How can we ever know when we should turn back or keep going? On paper, the safest decision to make is often to turn around or choose the route that takes on less risk. However, in reality, delivering adventure isn’t always about picking the safest choice. At the core of every adventure is an element of risk taking. Being able to decide when to go for it, and when not to, is a defining trait of professional adventure guides and instructors.Helping us to identify when it’s okay to keep going is Mike Adolph. Mike is an ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide and the current technical director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. There are a number of factors that can hold us back from continuing onwards towards an objective including self doubt, fear, and uncertainty.We discuss some key strategies with Mike that we can use that can help us to determine if we should abort a plan or whether we are well positioned to keep going.Key Takeaways:How can we know when we should push forward and keep going with a plan when we may feel like doing the opposite? A few of the strategies that can help to guide our decision making include:Set goals around experiences: Instead of hard destinations or milestones, make it about the experience. When it comes to delivering adventure, we can box ourselves in by setting our expectations around achieving certain objectives.Identifying data points that support the decision to continue: This includes the amount of time taken to accomplish a task, competency level of skills, the interest level of group, the weather, the conditions, the amount of risk and the amount risk tolerance within the group.Remove pressure from the leader: Talk to the group for their feedback to ensure you are not the one driving the group or holding them back.If uncertainty is rising, ask yourself why: This uncertainty could include self doubt, the ability level of yourself or the group to handle the situation, the interest level of everyone involved, the conditions, and the actual route or path you want to take.Don’t make a decision until you have to: This allows us the opportunity to collect as much information as possible before making a commitment. Guest BioMike Adolph is an ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide and the current technical director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. In addition to guiding custom outdoor adventures for small groups, Mike also works as a guide trainer and examiner for the ACMG’s Training and Assessment Program.Mike started in the outdoor industry in 1994 after his family, in a joint venture, opened the Sheiling Mountain Lodge and the Center for Outdoor Education in Nordegg, Alberta. He completed his final ACMG exam and received his IFMGA International Federation of Mountain Guides Association Mountain Guide designation in 2009. He always admired his instructors and examiners, even if they were a bit harsh at times, which lead to him getting involved with the instructor/examiner team in 2012. When the job posting for the interim ACMG technical director came up in 2018, he thought, why not? The mountains have taught him to be open to all possibilities, have several options and go with the flow. I feel lucky to have this as a career and am extremely grateful to my loving and understanding wife Jennifer and our two boys Lucas and Tyler.Guest LinksACMG Technical Manuals: https://www.acmg.ca/03public/resources/publications.aspxAssociation of Mountain Guides: www.acmg.caDavid Thomson Via Ferratas: www.viaferratacanada.comMike Adolph Email:

Have you ever pushed forward with something even when it became clear that you should probably change your plan or abort? If so, you may have succumbed to plan continuation bias. When this happens, we can become predisposed to continue towards completing our original plan, even when conditions change, or new information becomes known that indicates that continuing on is not advisable.Mike Adolph joins us to discuss some of the strategies that we can use to recognize and manage plan continuation bias. Mike Adolph is an ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide and is the current Technical Director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides.Mike dips into his extensive guiding and instructing experience to share some great examples and advice.Key TakeawaysWhat is plan continuation bias: It is when a person ignores the fact that conditions or the situation has changed in a way that should cause them to rethink their initial plan, but the person decides to push on towards their objective anyway.Reasons for plan continuation bias: There are often a number of human factors at play including pressure to keep going from others, a need or desire to make money if you are getting paid to keep going, and a belief that we are more likely to experience a positive outcome. We may also end up ignoring or downplaying information that indicates that we should change course.Set key decisions points beforehand: For example, we will decide if we continue once we reach the ridge, or after lunch, or once we have worked on this skill.Removing pressures beforehand: Examples of this can include communicating expectations, decision points and the overall plan beforehand.Guest BioMike Adolph is an ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide and the current technical director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. In addition to guiding custom outdoor adventures for small groups, Mike also works as a guide trainer and examiner for the ACMG’s Training and Assessment Program.Mike started in the outdoor industry in 1994 after his family, in a joint venture, opened the Sheiling Mountain Lodge and the Center for Outdoor Education in Nordegg, Alberta. He completed his final ACMG exam and received his IFMGA International Federation of Mountain Guides Association Mountain Guide designation in 2009. He always admired his instructors and examiners, even if they were a bit harsh at times, which lead to him getting involved with the instructor/examiner team in 2012. When the job posting for the interim ACMG technical director came up in 2018, he thought, why not? The mountains have taught him to be open to all possibilities, have several options and go with the flow. I feel lucky to have this as a career and am extremely grateful to my loving and understanding wife Jennifer and our two boys Lucas and Tyler.Guest LinksACMG Technical Manuals: https://www.acmg.ca/03public/resources/publications.aspxAssociation of Mountain Guides: www.acmg.caDavid Thomson Via Ferratas: www.viaferratacanada.comMike Adolph Email: msadolph@gmail.comMike Adolph Instagram: @ mikeatcoeAvalanche Hour with Mike Adolph: https://soundcloud.com/user-23585762/avalanche-hour-podcast-mike-adolph-acmg-10Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

Managing Misadventure with Moose MutlowCan misadventure be turned into a positive experience? In this episode we are joined by Moose Mutlow who helps us to better understand what misadventure is, and how we can find value in it.Moose has nearly forty years of experience as a guide, outdoor educator, and in Search and Rescue. He has worked around the world from the Kalahari Desert to the Florida Everglades, to Yosemite where he now lives. He is the author of two books and has extensive experience in family liaison and incident command.Key TakeawaysDefining Misadventure: Misadventure is something that doesn’t go well but you can end up with a good story to tell afterwards.Misadventure has a range: They can go from being funny stories of bad decisions to catastrophic disasters. It goes without saying that we are trying to avoid the latter as they can be very traumatic.Story telling component: Both adventures and misadventures are defined by the stories that we can tell about them afterwards. Containable misadventures often have much more engaging stories to tell than adventures that go perfectly well.Course correction: Being able to take a step back and look at the situation is often what stops things becoming an epic misadventure.Taking a pause can help us to slow things down so that we can articulate the decision-making process effectively, instead of just getting caught reacting to situations. This can often lead to worse outcomes.Reasons for misadventure: People underestimate the challenge and overestimate their ability and fail to plan and prepare ahead.Keep people in the Challenge Zone: You have your best gains when you operate just outside your comfort zone. Taking people right the edge of the extreme is counterproductive and is rarely that beneficial. Instead, we should be trying to put people in what I call the challenge zone which is where we feel excitement, but we aren’t so overwhelmed that we develop tunnel vision and are gripped with stress.Managing Misadventure: Realize when people are stressed, own mistakes that are made and draw attention to lessons learned along the way and try to keep it fun. Careful use of humour can be a useful tool on this last point.Guest BioMoose Mutlow has nearly 4 decades of traditional and alternative education experience around the globe. He has course directed 58-day Outward Bound instructor trainings in Appalachia, been a deputy headmaster in the Kalahari Desert, managed a beach concession on the Mediterranean, slogged through Australian rain forests with middle school students, has more than 2000 days of field instruction in a wilderness setting, spent four months as the Interim Head for an elite ski academy, and returned to Outward Bound to instruct a canoe program for Veterans on the Gulf of Mexico.Since 2002 Moose has been a member and senior trainer of Yosemite Search and Rescue, working as a technician and within Incident Command, at one of the busiest SAR operations in the world. Moose currently works for NatureBridge in Yosemite National Park as the Senior Projects Director for planning, design and construction of the National Environmental Science Center. Moose has written two books, Searching: Finding Purpose, Laughter & Distraction Through Search & Rescue and When Accidents Happen: Managing Crisis Communication as a Family Liaison Officer.Guest LinksMoose Mutlow: www.moosemutlow.comSearching: Finding Purpose, Laughter & Distraction Through Search & Rescue:

In this episode, Ken Bélanger shares a funny Heli skiing story that highlights the challenges of trying to talk people out of doing something that will probably not meet their needs in the long run. We look at some of the lessons learned from Ken’s story and offer some strategies to manage these types of situations.Ken Bélanger is an ACMG Ski and Hiking Guide and the owner of Elevation Guides. Ken’s story highlights the difficulties that leaders can face when they are trying to balance giving people what they want versus what they really need but may not realize it.Key takeawaysHow can we sell someone into do something they need, when they don’t think they want it? Here are four options:Try Persuasion: Strategies include reasoning with them, offering to do something better, tell them that what they won’t enjoy whatever it is they want to do. Avoid telling people they can’t do it, this can just sound like a challenge to some people.Use Force: When the level of risk is high, you may have to force them to do something they may not think they want to do. Strategies include a hard no, cresting and sighting rules, and having to attain a skills-based objective or proficiency level before doing something harder.Let them Suffer: If there is a low risk of serious consequences, it is possible to give people a taste of how hard of uncomfortable a situation will be if they don’t do what you are suggesting. This only works if it is safe and there is an escape route.Hope that it works out: When there is a low risk, they refuse to change course or listen to you, the damage can be contained or there are no other options, you may have to just hope things work out!Guest LinksElevation Guides: www.elevationguides.caKen Bélanger on Instagram: @elevationguidesGuest BioKen Bélanger is an ACMG Ski, Hiking, and Via Ferrata Guide, CAA Professional Member, CANSI Level 1 Nordic Ski & Telemark instructor, CSIA level 1, and Advanced Wilderness Adventure Medic.Although Ken grew up in Calgary not far from the mountains with his single father and two brothers, they didn’t have the financial means to explore them. It wasn’t until his late teens when he could self-fund trips that he finally discovered skiing and hiking.He was immediately hooked. It was a steep learning curve to overcome his fear of heights and water, but within a few years he was instructing and guiding water-sports, climbing, cycling, and nordic and telemark skiing.Ken considers himself extremely fortunate to have learned under some fantastic guides and instructors along the way.Now operating Elevation Guides with nearly 30 years of guiding experience in 23 countries, he couldn’t imagine a better career. Ken resides in Canmore, Alberta at the doorstep of beautiful Banff National.Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

At the heart of every adventure, is a degree of risk taking. Being able to communicate the level of risk that people can expect to be exposed to is an important component of delivering adventure to others recreationally and professionally.There is nothing worse than exposing someone to a situation that has an elevated level of risk or challenge and having them turn around and tell us that this is not what they expected. When this happens, the blame almost always lands on the leader.Helping us to examine how we can communicate risk more effectively, is friend of the show, Will Gadd. Will is a world class climbing, paragliding and white-water kayaking athlete. In addition to undertaking many adventures around the world as a professional athlete, Will also guides others professionally and is a certified ACMG Alpine Guide.In this episode we explore why it’s important to communicate risk and discuss some of the strategies that allow us to do it more effectively.Guest Bio:Will Gadd is a world class climbing, paragliding and white-water kayaking athlete. In addition to undertaking many adventures around the world as a professional athlete, Will also guides others professionally and is a certified ACMG Alpine Guide.Some of Will’s career highlights include:Establishing the hardest mixed ice climbing lines in the world.Setting the world distance record for paragliding. Twice. 423 km (263 miles) the second time.Kayaking down dozens of first ascents across North America.Winning the Canadian National Sport-Climbing Championships. Four times.Winning three gold medals at the X Games.Will has also been recognized as a mountain hero by the United Nations for his efforts to raise awareness for environmental issues including how climate change is affecting the mountain environment.Guest Links:Contact Will to be your Guide, Instructor or Speaker: https://willgadd.com/Instagram: @realwillgaddThe Last Ascent, Kilimanjaro: https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/films/the-last-ascent-will-gadds-return-to-kilimanjaroA Fun Ted Talk: Three Simple Tools to Manage Risk, Fear and Children: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTdFkPTTnsAKey Takeaways:The role of risk communication is to: Inform everyone of what to expect, so that people know what can happen, how likely it is and how risks will be managed, can provide the leader with informed consent.Getting informed consent: Getting informed consent involves communicating the risks that will be faced in a way that people can understand and process accurately.  Only when people have an understanding of what can happen to them, can they give informed consent to undertake that activity. The challenge with getting informed consent is that in some circumstances it can be difficult and even impossible to inform people effectively. When it comes to communicating risk: Do it at the start, end and during an event. You should be informing people any time you are going to be taking on an increased level of risk or you are about to do something that is completely new to them.Involving people in the decision-making process: Anytime there is going to be an elevated level of risk, or there is a new situation that people have not encountered, leader should probably consider involving their group in the decision-making process. Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share &

How can we improve our performance in a crisis? We spend a lot of time talking on Delivering Adventure about how we can avoid finding ourselves in crisis. However, despite our best efforts, we can all end up finding ourselves in situations where either ourselves or the people we are with end up in a crisis. In this episode, André-Jean Maheu helps us to explore how we can improve our performance when stressful situations cause us or others to lose control.AJ has worked as an adventure guide, ski patroller, avalanche forecaster, first aid instructor, and paramedic. He is also active in Search and Rescue and operates the North Shore Snowpack YouTube channel.Guest BioAJ Maheu began his career in the outdoor industry over 30 years ago. After spending a decade instructing, guiding river trips in Québec, and hikes from Alaska to the Andes he shifted his focus to emergency response in remote settings. He worked as a paramedic on worksites on Baffin Island and began a 20-year-career teaching wilderness first aid. He has taught emergency preparedness and first aid in multiple adventure travel guide programs in 6 different colleges and universities across the country.AJ Maheu is an avalanche professional and member of the Canadian Ski Guides Association. He has also worked as a professional ski patroller for the past 20 years. He is active in many spheres of the avalanche industry including forecasting for industrial operations, search and rescue, and ski resorts as well as instructing and guiding.AJ runs the North Shore Snowpack YouTube channel, providing weekly snowpack information to backcountry users and is a brand ambassador for Nano Traino, manufacturer of high quality, packable emergency evacuation toboggans. When not working, he is busy delivering adventures for his 2 boys, taking them on family adventures.Guest LinksNorth Shore Snowpack YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@northshoresnowpack?si=eZClzV6KePi3hYwbNano Traino: https://nanotraino.com/en/Key Takeaways:Managing performance effectively in a crisis: Best strategy is to keep yourself out of the crisis zone. When we are gripped with a crisis, it becomes very hard to counter our instincts of fight or flight. Our ability to think straight also becomes quite compromised. This means the best strategy to manage a crisis is to avoid losing control to begin with.To prepare for a crisis: You need to practice. Preparation can pull you through stressful situations.When you practice, make sure it’s meaningful. This means it has to have specific objectives.Make it realistic, go through all the steps with no short cuts. Practicing should outline what is difficult. It should have an element of stress.Reduce your vulnerability: Vulnerability is your inability to withstand a hostile environment or consequences. It is important to realize how vulnerable you are.Spending a lot of time looking at the foreseeable can help to recognize when you are going to be more vulnerable. This can help us to identify the things that can cause us to lose control to begin.Stay focused on building momentum: Adopt a proactive mindset where you focus on the things that you can do.Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

When it comes to adventure, a crisis can come in many forms ranging from getting lost, getting injured, pushing well past our capabilities and being faced with the prospect of disaster. It’s fair to say that being able to navigate through a crisis if one happens, is an essential skill for delivering adventure.In this episode, we are joined by AJ Maheu to gain a deeper understanding of what happens to us in a crisis and how that affects our performance. AJ taps into his extensive adventure industry experience as a ski patroller, guide, first aid instructor, paramedic, avalanche forecaster and adventure educator.Guest BioAJ Maheu began his career in the outdoor industry over 30 years ago. After spending a decade instructing, guiding river trips in Québec, and hikes from Alaska to the Andes he shifted his focus to emergency response in remote settings. He worked as a paramedic on worksites on Baffin Island and began a 20-year-career teaching wilderness first aid. He has taught emergency preparedness and first aid in multiple adventure travel guide programs in 6 different colleges and universities across the country.AJ Maheu is an avalanche professional and member of the Canadian Ski Guides Association. He has also worked as a professional ski patroller for the past 20 years. He is active in many spheres of the avalanche industry including forecasting for industrial operations, search and rescue, and ski resorts as well as instructing and guiding.AJ runs the North Shore Snowpack YouTube channel, providing weekly snowpack information to backcountry users and is a brand ambassador for Nano Traino, manufacturer of high quality, packable emergency evacuation toboggans. When not working, he is busy delivering adventures for his 2 boys, taking them on family adventures.Guest LinksNorth Shore Snowpack YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@northshoresnowpack?si=eZClzV6KePi3hYwbNano Traino: https://nanotraino.com/en/Key Takeaways:Definition: According to AJ, a crisis is when we lose control. We may have had a critical period before we lost control where we were holding things together. During this critical period there is usually an element at risk like our physical well-being, or the safety of others. However, if that situation deteriorates, that element at risk is compromised and we can no longer keep things together and we can end up in a crisis.Subjective: A crisis is a very subjective event. Two people can be in the same event and have a crisis for different reasons. Of course, two people can also be in the same incident and maybe only one of them has a crisis.During a crisis: Physiologically we get a surge of adrenaline which prepares us for action. This puts us in a state of fight or flight. This causes our muscles to tense up and leads to tunnel vision. It becomes hard to analyze mentally as our capacity to process everything that is going on is reduced. Eventually we can become physically incapacitated.Managing others: It can be very difficult to manage people when they are experiencing a crisis. 10-20% of people are predisposed to act appropriately in a crisis. That means that when people are faced with a crisis, 80-90% of people will experience some level of paralysis or loss of performance.Unreasonable: When people have adrenaline flowing through their bodies and they are gripped with panic, it is impossible to reason with them. This means that people may need time to process things before debriefing them Also, trying to downplay their feelings can backfire on you as AJ learned.Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Links

Why is it so hard to make good decisions? One of the factors has to do with what are called the human factors. These include cognitive biases, heuristics, personal motivations, and preferences.One person who sees the human factors in high consequence environments is Mike Adolph. Mike is an ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide and the current Technical Director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides.In this episode, Mike helps us to understand what human factors are, what some of the more common ones are and what we can do to reduce their negative impact on our decision-making abilities.Guest BioMike Adolph is an ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide and the current technical director of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. In addition to guiding custom outdoor adventures for small groups, Mike also works as a guide trainer and examiner for the ACMG’s Training and Assessment Program.Mike started in the outdoor industry in 1994 after his family, in a joint venture, opened the Sheiling Mountain Lodge and the Center for Outdoor Education in Nordegg, Alberta. He completed his final ACMG exam and received his IFMGA International Federation of Mountain Guides Association Mountain Guide designation in 2009. He always admired his instructors and examiners, even if they were a bit harsh at times, which lead to him getting involved with the instructor/examiner team in 2012. When the job posting for the interim ACMG technical director came up in 2018, he thought, why not? The mountains have taught him to be open to all possibilities, have several options and go with the flow. I feel lucky to have this as a career and am extremely grateful to my loving and understanding wife Jennifer and our two boys Lucas and Tyler.Guest LinksAssociation of Mountain Guides: www.acmg.caDavid Thomson Via Ferratas: www.viaferratacanada.comMike Adolph Email: msadolph@gmail.comMike Adolph Instagram: @mikeatcoeAvalanche Hour with Mike Adolph: https://soundcloud.com/user-23585762/avalanche-hour-podcast-mike-adolph-acmg-10Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

Is good judgment the most important skill to have when it comes to delivering adventure? In this episode, professional adventure guide and athlete Will Gadd returns to help us to make the case that it is. The power of good judgment is often the difference between delivering exceptional adventures and catastrophic misadventures. Mastering this skill is a must for anyone who wants to deliver adventure to themselves or others effectively.Will Gadd is one of the perfect people to help us to explore this topic. Will is used to making high consequence decisions for himself and others from ice climbing Niagara Falls, to setting world records for paragliding, to elite-level white water kayaking.Guest BioWill Gadd is a professional sponsored athlete and ACMG Alpine Guide. Among many of Will’s feats are first accents ice climbing Niagara Falls, Helmcken Falls, Icebergs and many other ice climbs around the world including on the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. Will is also a world-class white-water kayaker and paraglider. He has twice set the world record for the longest paragliding flight.As an elite athlete and professional guide, Will is extremely experienced when it comes to evaluating risk and making decisions that could have serious consequences for himself and the people he is leading, or working with. This makes Will one of the perfect people to talk about the power of judgment.Guest LinksContact Will to be your Guide, Instructor or Speaker: https://willgadd.com/Instagram: @realwillgaddThe Last Ascent, Kilimanjaro: https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/films/the-last-ascent-will-gadds-return-to-kilimanjaroA Fun Ted Talk: Three Simple Tools to Manage Risk, Fear and Children: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTdFkPTTnsAKey TakeawaysWhy decision making is the most important skill to have and how we can be better at it:The Difference Maker: Good decisions are what separate great adventures from mishaps and misadventures.Outcome Versus Process: A good decision and a good outcome are not always the same thing. Just because something worked out doesn’t mean we made a good decision. It could be that we were just lucky.Power of judgement: Good judgment increases our chances of getting good outcomes, while poor judgment can increase our chances of getting bad outcomes, also known in adventure circles as misadventures.Self-Awareness: One of the keys to being able to exercise good judgment and make good decisions is the ability to be self aware. A lack of self awareness leads to not knowing what is going on in our own head.  That can lead to us not recognizing what others are thinking.  On the other hand, an abundance of self awareness helps to us know our weaknesses and capabilities. It also helps us to recognize and manage human factors like bias.Why decision-making is hard: We are often making very consequential decisions with limited information.  Adding to this is the fact that adventure guides and adventure instructors are often making decisions in complex environments with hard to predict weather, and changeable conditions. It can also be hard to know how the people they are working with will perform under stress.Decision Making Strategies: These include collecting as much information as possible, slowing things down, and stepping away from people so that we can process information. It can also be helpful to avoid setting objectives that can be hard to change, although this isn’t always...

Every group needs a leader. If you are a professional adventure guide or instructor, there is an expectation that you can be the leader. While being the leader can be fun, it isn’t always easy for everyone.In this episode, we explore what it takes to be the leader and how to do it effectively. Joining us to share her unique insight on leadership is Erin Tierney. Erin has had many leadership roles within the adventure industry. These include leading and managing teams of guides and guests as a ski guide and ski guide examiner. She is also the current President of the Canadian Ski Guides Association (CSGA) and the General Manager of Whistler Heli-Skiing.Guest LinksWhistler Heli-Skiing: https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/whistler-heli-skiing/whistler-heli-skiing.aspxCanadian Ski Guide Association: https://canskiguide.com/The Avalanche Hour Podcast with Erin Tierney: https://soundcloud.com/user-23585762/tah-erin-tierney-csga-10Guest BioErin is a certified CSGA ski guide and the current President of the Canadian Ski Guide Association. In addition, to guiding in the Heli-ski industry since 1999, Erin is also a guide trainer and examiner with the Canadian Ski Guide Institute. Erin currently works as the General manager of Whistler Heli-skiing.Erin has worked extensively with teams of guests and guides in a number of roles, which makes her a perfect person to give us some insights on being a leader!Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

At some point in time, we all find ourselves in the role of being someone else’s guide. We could be guiding our friends, family or doing it professionally for strangers. In this episode, we try to answer the question of how guides provide exceptional value to the people they are leading? Joining us is Ken Bélanger.Ken has been operating skiing, hiking, and cycling trips around the world through his company Elevation Guides. Ken taps into his extensive experience leading high end custom trips to share some of the secrets that go into delivering exceptional guided experiences.Key TakeawaysTo provide value as a guide:Identify What People Really Want: Just because they might be asking for one thing doesn’t mean that is what they really want. This is where you have to be a curious detective. Remember, you can’t give people what they want if you don’t know what it is.Make it Special for Them: This might be something you have done many times, but it could be the first time the people you are with have ever done. Ask yourself, how can I make this feel fresh? Are there aspects of this experience I can provide that they couldn’t get on their own or with someone else? Ken talked a lot about custom trips. In a way, every trip should be a custom trip.Check in with People: Ask, is this what they want? Are they happy? Are they aware of the other options available to them? There is nothing worse than having someone go away from an experience feeling like they missed doing something better. It’s way better to uncover that early.Great Guides are Selfless: A great guide puts service to others ahead of serving themselves. Regardless of whether you are being pay to be the leader, or you are leading your friends or family, you would be wise to adopt the mindset that the people you are with are your customers. As such, you may need to put your own aspirations aside if they conflict with the needs and goals of the people you are guiding.Remember guiding family, friends and peers is harder than guiding strangers: The closer we are to people, the harder it can be for them so see us as being credible, regardless of how well intentioned, how professional, or how qualified we might be. Try not to take it personally.Have sympathy: People can be scared, they can struggle to do things that are easy for us, they may not be as resilient, and they may not grasp information as well as we want them to. This last point is especially true when they are under duress. They may also struggle to imagine what you are telling them if they have no experience with that situation. This is where it is important to try to view the situation through their eyes.Guest LinksElevation Guides: www.elevationguides.caKen Bélanger on Instagram: @elevationguidesGuest BioKen Bélanger is an ACMG Ski, Hiking, and Via Ferrata Guide, CAA Professional Member, CANSI Level 1 Nordic Ski & Telemark instructor, CSIA level 1, and Advanced Wilderness Adventure Medic.Although Ken grew up in Calgary not far from the mountains with his single father and two brothers, they didn’t have the financial means to explore them. It wasn’t until his late teens when he could self-fund trips that he finally discovered skiing and hiking.He was immediately hooked. It was a steep learning curve to overcome his fear of heights and water, but within a few years he was instructing and guiding watersports, climbing, cycling, and nordic and telemark skiing.Ken considers himself extremely fortunate to have learned under some fantastic guides and instructors along the way.Now operating Elevation Guides with nearly 30 years of guiding experience in 23 countries, he couldn’t imagine a better career. Ken...

Why should anyone hire a guide? If you are in the role of being a guide, do you know why people would want your help? These are two of the topics that we explore with Ken Bélanger. Ken is the owner of Elevation Guides, and works around the world as a ski, hiking and cycling guide. Using his unique perspective as someone who has had a lot of guides and who has guided a lot of people, Ken shares with us why people hire guides and why having a guide is valuable.Key TakeawaysReasons why People Hire a Guide: They want to go somewhere they either can’t or don’t think they can access on their own. They want to improve their skills or learn something so they can be better at what they are doing. They want to get more out of the experience by having someone else there with them, who can help to structure the experience in a positive way.Guides help us with all the little details: These are things we might not have thought of or known about.Guides help us to fast-track improvement:  They do this by showing us the short cuts, the better way to do things, they can help us to become better technically and show us how to be more efficient.Guides can maximize the experience: By making the most of the time we have and helping us to manage the risks more effectively.Help to build connections: They can connect us to the place and the activity by increasing understanding of where we are and what we are doing. This boosts our sense of place and purpose.Guides and instructors help us to go farther: than they otherwise could or believed they could on their own thanks to coaching, support, knowing where to go and how to do it.Guest LinksElevation Guides: www.elevationguides.caKen Bélanger on Instagram: @elevationguidesGuest BioKen Bélanger is an ACMG Ski, Hiking, and Via Ferrata Guide, CAA Professional Member, CANSI Level 1 Nordic Ski & Telemark instructor, CSIA level 1, and Advanced Wilderness Adventure Medic.Although Ken grew up in Calgary not far from the mountains with his single father and two brothers, they didn’t have the financial means to explore them. It wasn’t until his late teens when he could self-fund trips that he finally discovered skiing and hiking.He was immediately hooked. It was a steep learning curve to overcome his fear of heights and water, but within a few years he was instructing and guiding watersports, climbing, cycling, and nordic and telemark skiing.Ken considers himself extremely fortunate to have learned under some fantastic guides and instructors along the way.Now operating Elevation Guides with nearly 30 years of guiding experience in 23 countries, he couldn’t imagine a better career. Ken resides in Canmore, Alberta at the doorstep of beautiful Banff National.Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

What is adventure and how can we deliver it? These are just two of the topics that Mark Sedgwick and Jeff Marks help us to explore as we talk about adventure and the challenge zone. Mark and Jeff are two of the founders of the newly launched Professional Ski Instructors of Canada (PSIC). The PSIC has delivering “the adventure” at the core of its mission. Mark and Jeff walk through what “the adventure” is and how it relates to our challenge zone.Key TakeawaysInteresting new Organization: Promoting the delivery of the entire experience, free of judgment, promoting development, recognizing that delivering these experiences requires a diverse skill set that includes both hard and soft skills.Components of Adventure: Fun, safe, learning were three key components of adventure for the PSIC. To achieve an adventure, it has to be remembered as being enjoyable either in the moment or later, the experience has to fit inside people’s risk tolerance, and people generally want to feel like they have improved in some way.The Challenge Zone: Tis the performance zone you are in when you are excited and can perform well, without being overwhelmed or bored. When we go above your challenge zone, we can become stressed, and our survival instincts can kick in. When we go below our challenge zone, we can become complacent and lose interest. The level of adversity we are exposed to determines where we are operating.Adventure Happens in the Challenge Zone: This is where we are stimulated and can try new things without becoming frustrated. To deliver an adventure we need to create an environment here people can operate in their challenge zone.Guest LinksProfessional Ski Instructors of Canada (PSIC): www.psic.proModel of the Challenge Zone: https://deliveringadventure.com/the-adventure-zone/Guest BioMark Sedgwick is a proud product of the ski industry – skiing is his passion, and he is an obsessed student of the sport. His career spans over 35 years in the industry. He is currently President and co-founder of both the Professional ski instructors of Canada (PSIC) and 2XO Ski Consulting, offering his expertise as an industry advisor. He is a recognized and respected global thought leader and author in the ski space.Mark spent 16 years as a senior executive with Whistler Blackcomb and played a strategic role in all aspects of the resort’s journey and growth as it became the most visited resort on the planet. During his tenure at Whistler Blackcomb, he was involved in the delivery of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, a successful Initial Public Offering (IPO), leading to the establishment of Whistler Blackcomb as a publicly traded company. This series of achievements culminated in Whistler Blackcomb’s significant acquisition by Vail Resorts.Mark's ski education spans three pathways: Austrian, Australian, and Canadian. Mark participated at two Interski events, representing Australia in 1995 and Canada as Technical Lead and Coach in 2023.Like Mark, Jeff has worked extensively in the ski industry. Jeff was born and raised in the Canadian Rockies in Jasper and currently lives in Banff Alberta.Jeff has had various leadership roles in the ski industry including Director of the Club Ski program in Banff and the Niseko Village Snow School in Japan as well as 12 years as Program Coordinator and National Program Director for the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance.Jeff has represented Canada at three Interski events including as Head Coach of the Canadian team in March, 2023 in Levi, Finland. Now being involved with the Professional Ski Instructors of Canada, Jeff finds himself again in a creative new challenge zone with an opportunity to do his best to support an industry and profession that he loves. ...

Delivering Adventure returns with Season 2. In this season, we continue to explore what it really takes to share adventure like a pro - with yourself, your family, your friends and as a profession. Listen as top adventure guides, instructors, managers and marketers share their best stories, insights and trade secrets on how you can take yourself and others further.This second season focusses on introducing the essential adventure skills like decision making, communicating risk, leadership, skill improvement, and so much more.Your hosts Chris Kaipio and Jordy Shepherd use their extensive knowledge to supplement the lessons that their expert guests bring. Each episode explores a new topic with the goal being to tell the story of what it takes to deliver adventure at a pro level.Go further, become better and achieve more. That's Delivering Adventure.Follow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

Who regulates adventure? Who trains guides and professionals? Who advocates for access or promotes safety and skill development? The answer to all of these questions are organizations. Jordy and Chris are joined by Angela Hawse to explore the role of organizations in the delivery of adventure. Angela shares her perspective as the President of the American Mountain Guides Association. She discusses what everyone should know about how some of these organizations work, their challenges and the value that they bring to everyone.Key TakeawaysStart small and evolve: Organizations tend to start with a group of people that band together to push forward a small number of objectives and then grow.Anyone can help them to evolve: Everyone has the ability to use the power of their influence to drive change within these organizations by jointing boards, committees, and lobbying membership with solutions.Organizations are groups of people: They are not faceless corporations. They can be contacted, influenced, and they often appreciate positive feedback!These organizations are essential: They can play important roles in educating the public, creating and sharing best accepted practices, accrediting and regulating guides and instructors, and lobbying for protection, development and access.Guest Links & ResourcesAmerican Mountain Guides Association: https://amga.com/Angela’s Instagram @alpinist007IRIS: https://irisalpine.com/about/guides/The Power to Influence: how to get the best out of yourself and others - find it herePartner PodcastThe Avalanche Hour: https://www.theavalanchehour.comFollow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

The line between an adventure and a misadventure is often defined by our decisions, how we manage the challenges that we face and how the experience is remembered afterwards. In this episode, Bruce Wilson returns to share a story that seriously tested his skills to deliver adventure. This is a story from early in his sea kayak guiding career. Afterward, Chris and Jordy share their insights into the lessons that we can all learn from Bruce’s experience and how he ultimately turned what could have been a disaster into an exciting adventure for his clients.Key takeaways:Human factors can compromise judgement: These factors include bias, blindness and a lack of foresight.Pressure to deliver: Every guide can succumb to the pressure to deliver an amazing adventure, even when they have concerns about about the wisdom of doing so.Letting people suffer to convince them: Sometimes, a leader has to expose people to a small measure of the adversity they are going to face, so they can understand why following a course of action is not in their best interest.Practice failure: Spending time to practice rescue, recovery and reactions skills effectively, can save time and stress in a moment of crisis.Debrief: Taking time to talk about challenging and traumatic experiences can be the difference between whether a situation is remembered as an adventure or a misadventure.Guest LinksYou can contact Bruce through Wolf Warrior Guide ServicesFollow or SubscribeEnjoyed this episode? Please follow or subscribe. Thanks!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

How can we help people to succeed when they are faced with the challenges that come with adventure? In this episode, Sylvia Forest draws upon her experience to share some of the key strategies that have allowed her to help others to succeed.Sylvia has worked as a national park warden, mountain guide, guide trainer and examiner and is the current President of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides.Key TakeawaysSafe environment: Anyone in a leadership position can work to create an environment that is as physically safe as possible, free of judgment and harassment, and full of support.Involve people where you can:  Involving people in the decision making process can help to give them ownership over the experience.Create a team atmosphere: People want to feel like they belong. Involving people in the decision-making process, in leadership positions, and in tasks helps to create this.Accept that people won’t always like what you are doing: Despite your best actions and intentions, you can’t be all things to all people. Knowing when to listen, when to push back and when to tune it out, is a hallmark of a great leader.Guest Links & ResourcesAssociation of Canadian Mountain Guides: WebsiteGuardians of the Peaks by Kathy Calvert and Dave Portman: Available HereUnderstanding Group Formation: More Info HereFollow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

Sylvia Forest joins us to explore her path into the adventure delivery industry from being a park warden to becoming an ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide. Sylvia shares some of her challenges, successes, and a few key pieces of wisdom that we can all learn from.In addition to guiding, Sylvia is a guide trainer and examiner and is also the current President of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides.Key TakeawaysHow to help yourself and others on the path to adventure includes:Knowing yourself: Figuring out what you want to do in life starts with knowing yourself and what you are capable of.Knowing your audience: it is hard to get the best out of people if you don’t know what they can do, their expectations, how they react under duress, and who they are as people.The first one is to learn to embrace failure: Failures help to make us more resilient. Avoid punishing people for mistakes: While some people thrive on constant critiquing, most people don’t perform at their best when they are forced to dwell on their missteps. Help others to find value in failure: Some strategies that we can use include: highlighting lessons learned, successful strategies that were used, processes and what could be done to get a better result in the future, are all ways of turning a negative experience into a valuable one. Another important component is to draw attention to what went right.Guest Links & ResourcesAssociation of Canadian Mountain Guides: WebsiteGuardians of the Peaks by Kathy Calvert and Dave Portman: Available HereFollow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure

What does it take to deliver adventure to ourselves? What are some of the key skills that great adventures possess? Angela Hawse joins Jordy and Chris to explore these questions and much more. Angela is an AMGA / IFMGA Mountain Guide who has travelled and guided extensively. Some of her many accomplishments include guiding trips in the Himalaya, Karakoram, the Caucasus, Andes, Alaska, Norway, and Antarctica. In this episode, Angela talks about her recent adventures and what it took to achieve them.Key TakeawaysNavigation: To experience adventure, we have to be able to find our way both literally and figuratively. Prepare: Being prepared can mean spending more time practicing, developing skills, planning, and researching.Adaptable: To become adaptable we need to be flexible, we need to be open to changing our expectations, we have to be creative and solution oriented. Adventure is for everyone: Adventure is something that anyone can experience. We can tell you that with the right instruction, coaching, encouragement, and mindset, anyone can push their limits and achieve adventure that they believe are beyond their abilities.Guest Links & ResourcesAngela’s Instagram @alpinist007IRIS: https://irisalpine.com/about/guides/Partner PodcastThe Avalanche Hour: https://www.theavalanchehour.comFollow or SubscribeDon’t forget to follow the show!Share & Social Linkshttps://linktr.ee/deliveringadventure