Black Diamond Presents: The Human Factor, a five-part multi-media story that investigates the decisions skiers make in avalanche terrain. Starting November 11th, every Tuesday for five weeks, a new chapter will be released. This week’s segment, Chapter 3, released on November 25th, discusses how many experts fall victim to avalanches thinking the slopes are safe and the reasoning behind their final decision.

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-Written by David Page

"IN FEBRUARY 1995, IAN MCCAMMON'S FRIEND and climbing partner, Steve Carruthers, went for a backcountry tour with two buddies above Big Cottonwood Canyon. It had dumped nearly two feet the day before and the avalanche danger was rated as "high." But the route they decided to take was a popular one leading to relatively safe, low-angle terrain. On the way up, they met another party. Before they continued their separate ways, they discussed the hazards, and the need to be cautious in their route selection. Ten minutes later, Carruthers' group triggered an avalanche that caught all three of them. Two survived. Carruthers did not.

"In the aftermath of a less-than-perfect decision," McCammon wrote in a pivotal paper he presented at the International Snow Science Workshop (ISSW) in Penticton, British Columbia, in 2002, prompted by the questions raised by his friend's death, "it's natural to search for a simple explanation." When a plane goes down, we want to know: Was it pilot error? Was it mechanical failure due to negligence? Was it a terrorist attack? Or was it just bad luck, an aircraft caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, randomly coincident with the unpredictable trajectory of a large bird, or a lightning strike? In an accident like the one in the Wallowas: Was it the guide's fault? Was it the outfitter's? Did a client not follow directions?"

Read the rest of The Human Factor: One-Armed Bandit at www.powder.com