The Psychology Behind Group Communication

As La Nina winter creeps in early across BC and some resorts feel encouraged to open the earliest they ever have, most of us still have some time to go before we get to excitedly wait in our local, socially-distanced lift line. So here we are pumping in our first skin tracks toward our favourite zones, hoping the rocks stay hidden and that the holes stay (relatively) filled. Does it ever feel strange to be smiling and laughing with friends on a ridge top, as you discuss ways to cheat death? Coverage may still be scarce, but early season outings with friends are a great time to think beyond the skiing and refresh the talking aspect first. 



It’s likely that many of us have experienced discomfort, hurt or frustration due to inadequate communication between friends or  partners, and the same goes for ski touring buddies. Have a read through this article to learn about the psychology of mistake making in the backcountry, and why it is so important to ensure that effective communication exists among your backcountry friends. Although one might think more ’successful’ groups make fewer mistakes as a whole, years of studies involving NASA’s astronauts in space and Google’s tech employees show us otherwise.