Experienced teams competing in multiple adventure activities, several of which involved ropes, kept their harnesses on all day. Safety procedures included an initial check of buckles and harnesses by an instructor, but failed to recognize that participants would remove their harnesses for toilet purposes. Lists other possible safety errors for…

Examines ways in which outdoor adventure programs can guard against charges of negligence and the possibility of lawsuits without diluting challenge or participant satisfaction. Discusses risk management, insurance, safety guidelines to use in the development of program-specific standards, and accident prevention. Contains 19 references. (SV)

Reviews the history of risk management and currently popular risk management tools, e.g., item-decision model and frequency/severity matrix. Discusses the safety record of outdoor adventure programs including data on injury rates and frequent accident types. Argues for flexible and realistic safety procedures and serious study of the phenomenon of…

Home-built adventure-education courses exhibit refreshing creativity but almost always fall short of their potential due to inadequate construction techniques and materials. A ropes course inspector for the adventure education industry discusses the most common mistakes made in home-built ropes courses and how to prevent or fix them. (TD)

Emphasizes the responsibility of eliminating unacceptable levels of safety risks in outdoor education programs, without destroying opportunities for challenging experiences that allow the spontaneity and freedom of movement necessary for the development of self-reliance and self-growth for students. (JD)

Describes a 10-step process for analyzing danger as a way of reducing the chance that an accident will happen, or minimizing its consequences to acceptable and recoverable levels. Factors that can inhibit the process include inappropriate attribution, relaxed concentration, rushing to maintain a schedule, group or peer pressure, and poor judgment.…

The Accident Frequency-Severity Chart (AFSC) is a tool for correctly assessing and appropriately coping with risks inherent in adventure programs. The AFSC helps to measure risk frequency (likelihood of loss) and severity (amount of loss) of specific outdoor activities. The AFSC can also be used to compare safety records of outdoor activities and…

Analyzes the actions taken by an instructor when a student fell while climbing a gill (a gorge cut into the mountainside by a fast-flowing stream). Stresses the importance of instructors making quick decisions and remaining calm during a potentially dangerous situation. Suggests using a hand line in the future to alert students of risk involved.…

The findings of industrial safety engineers in the areas of accident causation and prevention are wholly applicable to adventure programs. Adventure education instructors can use safety engineering concepts to assess the risk in a particular activity, understand factors that cause accidents, and intervene to minimize injuries and damages if…

The Wilderness Risk Managers Committee (WRMC), a consortium of outdoor schools and organizations, works toward better understanding and management of risks in the wilderness. Among other activities, the WRMC gathers data on incidents and accidents from member organizations and other wilderness-based programs. This book compiles incident data for…

A camp that is establishing a challenge course or climbing wall must ensure program safety. Discusses financial planning, selecting a contractor, adhering to standards for construction, inspections, staff training, screening of participants, and the administrative challenge of implementing and documenting proper actions. Sidebar discusses a study…

This paper discusses subjective hazards in wilderness activities and suggests means of assessing and managing related risks. Wilderness educators conveniently group hazards into objective and subjective ones. Objective hazards such as rockfall, moving water, and weather, while not necessarily predictable, are visible and understandable. Subjective…

Most take canoeing, leadership, first aid, CPR and other courses to help cope when something happens, but there is more to dealing with crisis than learning proper procedures and techniques. Three areas of concern interlock to form the Crisis Management Triangle: knowledge and skill, preventive awareness, and crisis management planning. (ERB)

Climbers' perceptions of risk are influenced by psychological and sociological phenomena that cause them to accept higher levels of real risk without awareness that risks have increased. Groups, for example, make riskier decisions than members would recommend individually. By recognizing risk affecting phenomena, climbers can avoid many…

Gathers comprehensive information about accidents and near misses occurring in outdoor programs. Includes checklists for types of injury/illness, program activity, and contributing factors. Asks for analysis and recommendations, comments by the program director, and a narrative description of how the accident happened, treatment given, and…