Living on the Edge
What a meditation, a radical winter sport, and risk management practices have all in common?
From earlier ages of my adventure life, I would never ever realize how these three concepts are all connected. This article is about let it go distractions, keep tight focus and stay in control of uncertainties and threats you will probably face along your way.
We all start from the beginning.
Regardless of what you decided to have fun, work or seek peace, you started in something. My journey towards this idea began in 1994 at Mammoth, California. At that moment, the first of what would become the wildest, spirit, fun and adventure sport I ever met was just the beginning of a perfect marriage. Snowboarding — although a modern one- is a very known winter sport radically practicable and globally spread.
You may not know, but Brazil has an internal championship annually happening in Chile every single year.
This sport has several qualities, but only a unique, and reserved one deserves all attention aim to where nature decided to produce the necessary resource: The Snow.
Combining the equation, what we possibly gain?
Snowboarding plays a considerable role in the field combining a series of risk skills, concentration, and mainly high focus. Mountains are sacred places, and anyone desiring to explore and ride them should carry a backpack with all these tools on it.
Dealing with wild and unknown areas requires risk management expertise especially the off trails where your performance is faced with the open terrain.
Riding mountains needs experience, knowledge, and practice. At that day of 1994, I hadn’t acquired these combinations yet, but it was the initiation process. Just like in project management, the initiation process is the 1st of the five domain groups available, according to the PMI Body of Knowledge.
By advancing in this career, you get the needs and tricks to move on and meet your next challenges.
Feeling the fear, breath and let it go!
When you climb levels, you need more expertise and the right tools to support you. It means cleary that you now are surrounded by risks. When I decided to go on and be involved in this winter sport, I met the red zone. I was an intermediate guy learning the curve when suddenly I took too many risks without controlling and started losing balance when I finally hit the solid ice in a 31 miles speed I could possibly remember. That was my first rescue time. I got lucky. No broken pieces but on the other hand, I won a high bump face and a hurt jawbone for a week. That was painful. Bingo! Checked-in my 1st lessons learned.
Following the years, I got special training, met professionals, and learned the how-to correctly.
Thus far, I had collected these risk practices:
- Learn the foundations;
Attend classes. Feel it. Study. Know how to start wisely.
2. Know your terrain before you go;
Here it is a fact. Analyse past trends an historical events.
3. Observe and analyze your surroundings;
Follow the 5 red flags:
4. Qualify your expertise honestly;
Don’t judge yourself wrong. You may end with a bad headache.
5. Plan the riding (where to warm up, etc.);
It’s about identification. Without a plan, you increase the impact.
6. Know your boundaries;
Do not cross your borders. Just be realistic.
7. No push beyond your limits;
Calculate your actual payoff. Quantify yourself.
8. Work in a group or in a pair, never solo;
You’ll never go anywhere alone. Don’t be foolish.
9. Improve your competences;
Ride, ride and ride. This potentializes your reflex and skills.
10. Identify your threats such as avalanche areas, rocks, and hidden obstacles;
They exist and are real and deadly. Pay attention!
11. Limit your riding by choosing the known slopes unless you decide to be rescued;
Don’t go so far away from where you have not sure if you’ll be back safely.
12. Determine your objectives against the trail map and local experience;
Take a holistic photo of the mountain and terrain you are planning to ride. Use technology.
13. Have a response plan in case bad things happens;
Bring your beacons and rescue tools.
14. Learn by the nature signals;
The 5 red flags.
15. Enjoy your ride and respect the mountains!
Always.
From a cause, risk and effect use case, better stay with the real rather than the surface risks.
The conditional piece of mind
Finally, our last add-on is the ideal balance to ensure you are ready. A must-have tool. Mindfulness! A simple and effective 10 minutes minimum per day of meditation will keep you aware, focused and in control. Believe me, it’s healthy and necessary medicine.
If you want to advance in this sport, start practicing this spiritual science otherwise, you will unfortunately not hit the highest summit.
Make choices are a human behavior. We do all the time. Despite the warning signals, we must calculate the impact of not letting it go your distractions. It may cost your life.
Mindfulness is a science refined and developed over many centuries. It helps you find the balance and clarity in your mind keeping you away from big thoughts or even the distractions making your riding session indifferent.
Awareness and adrenaline are good friends. The more you practice, the more you get healthy to keep going.
Remember! You have reached the experts only path now. You got improvements and while in the mountains, less attention is your main enemy.
Thus, with all these facts in mind, what are you waiting for?
See you on slopes!
