Risk & Rescue
When the GPS dies: navigating with what is left
A dead phone in poor visibility turns a routine day into a genuine problem. The backup is a map, a compass and a set of habits that most people no longer have.
Risk & Rescue
Decision-making, first aid and getting out.
Risk & Rescue
After the accident: the hours and days that follow
Everything written about outdoor safety is about prevention and rescue. Almost nothing is written about what happens next, which is the part people are least prepared for.
Risk & Rescue
Debriefing a near miss, without turning it into a trial
The most valuable safety information available to any group is the thing that nearly went wrong last month. Most groups never discuss it, because the conversation is uncomfortable.
Risk & Rescue
Altitude illness: the rules that have not changed
Acute mountain sickness is common, predictable and manageable. Its two severe forms are less common, unpredictable in who they hit, and kill quickly if ignored.
Risk & Rescue
Head injury in the field: what to watch for over the next hours
The dangerous head injuries are not always the ones that look bad at the time. Some deteriorate over hours, which is why observation matters as much as the initial assessment.
Risk & Rescue
Improvised carries: moving an injured person without a stretcher
Sometimes waiting is right and sometimes it is not. If you have to move someone, doing it badly can cause more damage than the original injury.
Risk & Rescue
Group size and the quality of the decisions you make
A larger group has more resources for a rescue and, reliably, makes worse decisions about avoiding one. The trade-off is real and worth planning around.
Risk & Rescue
Turning around: the skill nobody puts on their profile
Every experienced mountain person has a collection of days they walked away from. That collection, not the summit list, is what makes them experienced.
Risk & Rescue
Calling for help: what rescuers actually need to hear
The quality of the information in the first call has a direct effect on how fast help arrives and what form it takes. Most people give it badly, because nobody has ever told them what is wanted.
Risk & Rescue
Hypothermia: recognising it in someone who says they are fine
The dangerous stage arrives before anyone is dramatically cold, and its main symptom is that the affected person stops being able to assess themselves.
Risk & Rescue
The first aid kit you will actually open
Most commercial kits are optimised for looking comprehensive on a shelf. A useful field kit is smaller, weirder, and organised around the injuries that actually happen.
Risk & Rescue
The heuristic traps that get experienced people killed
Accident reports are full of competent, well-equipped, well-trained people who walked into obvious hazard. The pattern is not ignorance. It is a small set of mental shortcuts that work everywhere except here.