When we venture into the mountains, whether for a leisurely hike, climb or scramble, or a peaceful escape into nature, we often rely on our experience, instincts, and judgement. This blog focusses on heuristic traps from a woman's perspective looking exclusively at how these can affect women. There’s currently no research (that I have found) on non binary and transgender folks (yet) but I will update once I find something!
This article is based on experience from working in the mountains for over 15 years and research on heuristic traps, mainly on snowsports. This article is relevant for anyone that enjoys heading outdoors, There's some case studies to look through right at the end. Even the most seasoned adventurers can fall prey to cognitive shortcuts known as heuristic traps. These mental pitfalls can lead to dangerous, sometimes fatal, decisions in the mountains, more often a very memorable experience. These heuristic traps can be observed in any work place, but in the mountains you can see and feel the direct impact of some of these decisions.
It’s crucial to understand how these traps work, the unique ways they may affect us, and how to avoid them, so we can keep safe and have fun in the hills.
What Are Heuristic Traps?
Heuristic traps are mental shortcuts our brains use to make decisions quickly, especially in complex or high-pressure situations. While these shortcuts can be helpful, they can also lead us astray when they cause us to overlook important details or underestimate risks.
In the context of mountain adventures, heuristic traps often manifest when we rely too heavily on past experiences, feel less experienced, social influences, or perceived norms rather than carefully assessing the current conditions. It is easy to follow others, to feel others maybe have more experience or to follow what’s happening in the group!
McCammon’s classic “FACETS” acronym (2004) allows us to (try and) remember:
F: Familiarity. Something that is more familiar to us feels safer, I often speak about this with my clients how if you are familiar it makes you feel less vulnerable. This could look like walking in an area you're familiar with so you feel safe, but perhaps have missed looking at the folks you're with, the ground conditions or the weather.
A: Acceptance. Socially - this is the desire to fit in. We often see this trap in mixed-gender groups. Mixed-gender groups are more likely to expose themselves to more obvious hazards than single-gender groups. Wild eh….
C: Commitment or consistency. We’ve driven the whole way to Scotland to climb Ben Nevis, there’s no way we’re not doing it…..we’ve all been there!
E: Expert halo. This is about going out with someone perceived to be more knowledgeable than you. This could be a qualified instructor, a friend, partner or a family member.
T: Tracks. This is often referred to regarding snowsports, however, in summer this could be following someone else because you think they’re going the right way.
S: Social proof or social facilitation. Seeing people walking up along a route can confirm where the path is! Just because you see other people walking in one way, that doesn’t mean it's your way!
How Heuristic Traps Happen?
Let’s explore a few common heuristic traps that can occur in the mountains:
Familiarity Trap: This occurs when we become overconfident in familiar environments. For example, if you’ve hiked a particular trail numerous times without incident, you might underestimate new risks, such as sudden weather changes or altered terrain. The thought, "I’ve done this before, it’ll be fine," can cloud your judgement, leading to complacency.
Social Proof Trap: Humans are social creatures, and we often look to others for cues on how to behave. In a group setting, especially in mixed-gender groups, women (and underrepresented folks) might feel pressured to conform to the group’s decisions, even if they sense a bad decision coming their way.. This can happen when everyone else seems confident in a route, despite nagging doubts you might have.
Expert Halo Trap: You’ve gone out with friends or a partner and they have more experience than you, so you follow them and their decisions. Until you’ve gone the wrong way for an hour and are both getting hungry and tired. I hear this scenario the most from my clients. Usually ending in a very memorable outing.
Commitment Trap: Once we commit to a plan, there’s a natural tendency to stick with it, even when conditions change. This is especially true for women who may feel the need to prove themselves in environments traditionally dominated by men. The determination to not appear weak or indecisive can lead to sticking with a bad decision.
Real-Life Scenarios:
What heuristic traps can you identify?
“I went out in the Peak District with someone more qualified than me to refresh my own skills and build some confidence - I had a touch of the imposter syndrome! It started off ok but as we got more remote, I started to worry about the person in charge. When navigating to a certain point they said, oh I'm glad that's so obvious - I've not been up here before!! This continued with them questioning our navigation. They then started to become quite rushed, and said we need to hurry as we won't make camp before dark. At this point, I was feeling quite unsettled and for the first time ever, considered leaving them to it and waking back to the start by myself. It was only really a sense of politeness and doing the right thing that kept me there. We made it to camp and were waiting to head out on night navigation. This is already an area I'm not confident in so by this point I was really worried. I had messaged two of my friends giving them my location and explaining what I was doing, letting them know that I would message them when he got back to let them know it was ok. As we set off, they revealed that she had never walked this particular area in day or night. I spent the whole time worrying rather than focusing on skills.”
Which heuristic traps can you identify? (this story is based in europe)
“We prepared the most for this mountain, from training to logistics as it was our first serious alpine peak. We did follow a couple for a short but but quickly realised that the rock climbing was getting a bit harder (normally if you know the grade of the climb and all of a sudden it gets super hard you know you're off route) so we backed off and found a path that was more polished (meaning more traffic was going that way so that was the route) and we then saw a mountain guide with a client. We managed to get to the top in a good timeframe ( we kept a strict turnaround tie) but knew the storm would hit in about 2 hours. We managed to get from the top to the mid-hut where the refuge host told us he was happy for us to stay overnight and wait for the storm to pass. We decided to push on, I could hear the thunder just about us as we were getting off hte mountain. I kept telling myself multiple times that this was not the place to be and I need to focus to get off the mountain. We got to the glacier when the hell really started, we saw a light in the lower hut but couldn’t see hte path, I phoned the hut guardian but she couldn’t direct us, even though they saw us, we also called 112 but they couldn’t help as the weather was so bad, no rescue teams or helicopters were going to come out. We managed to find a pile of rocks, covered ourselves with sleeping bags and emergency bags and with the early morning light we saw the path 10m from us”
This story is from experienced mountaineers, while the heuristics are a little more subtle they are still there.
Solutions: Avoiding Heuristic Traps
Understanding heuristic traps is the first step to avoiding them, another thing to consider is Human Factors, here’s a link to an excellent article. Below are some strategies, the most common traps I see women and non binary folks fall into are 'expert halo' and 'acceptance' (basically not speaking up in a group).
Trust Your Instincts: If something doesn’t feel right, speak up, your gut just knows!. Your intuition is valuable, and your perspective might provide critical insight that others overlook. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to gain an insight into someone's thoughts or decisions especially if you don’t feel comfortable and/or want to learn from the experience. You can phrase or frame it in a way that you want to learn more about leadership or decision making in the mountains.
Communicate Openly: In group settings, encourage open discussions about risks and concerns. A good leader will value all input, and it’s important to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable voicing their thoughts. It can be difficult to voice your opinion especially if you are around lots of people that you don’t know or those people are really vocal.
Pause and Reassess: Regularly take moments to pause, especially when conditions, your needs, your friends or groups needs change. Recflecion in the mountains is a really useful practice to get into. Use this time to reassess your plan, considering the current weather, your physical condition, and the group’s morale. Don’t hesitate to change the day, cut it short or head back down if needed.
Educate and Prepare: Continuously educate yourself about mountain safety, weather patterns, and navigation skills. The more knowledge you have, the better equipped you’ll be to recognize when things are going wrong.
Seek Diverse Experiences: If you’re often in mixed-gender groups, also try to seek out all-female or solo experiences. These can build your confidence in making independent decisions and reduce the pressure to conform to others’ expectations.
Empowering Female Adventurers
The mountains are a space of freedom, challenge, and immense beauty. By understanding heuristic traps and how they can uniquely affect women, we can empower ourselves and each other to make safer, more informed decisions in the wild.
Remember, your voice, experience, and judgement are invaluable tools on any adventure. Let’s embrace them, trust in our abilities, and navigate the mountains with confidence and wisdom.
At Navigation with Harriet, we’re dedicated to helping women become more confident and skilled adventurers. For more tips, stories, and advice on mountain safety and navigation, explore our other blog posts or join one of our workshops. Safe travels!
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