Mental Shortcuts

You’re planning a hunt in an area that you’ve been to before. You know how difficult the terrain is and how long it takes to get there. This knowledge is helpful as you plan and prepare. On this occasion, however, the weather is different from last time, with gale-force winds above the bushline. You weren’t prepared for these conditions and now you’re wishing that you’d paid more attention to the forecast and brought a windproof jacket, extra warm layers, a hat and gloves.  

Our brains naturally rely on mental shortcuts to make decisions quickly and easily. This can cause us to switch to autopilot, particularly when we’re doing something familiar. Breaking this habit takes deliberate practice. Having a set process to follow for every trip can help you stay focused and avoid relying on autopilot, even when you know the area well.

• Reassess familiar terrain. Treat the places you’ve been to before as if they are new and avoid making assumptions about the conditions based on past experiences.
• Take a structured approach to decision - making. Decide ahead of time where you will stop and assess the situation and conditions. This will help you base decisions on the current circumstances rather than on what you’ve experienced before. 
• Always carry essentials. Pack warm clothing and a waterproof jacket, first aid kit, emergency shelter, extra food and an emergency communication device, even if you’ve never had to use them before.
• Invite discussion within the group. Encourage others in the group to question the plan or play devil ’ s advocate. This can help identify hazards that others may overlook and reduce complacency that can come with travelling in familiar terrain.

You’re on a team adventure race when you’re faced with crossing a flooded river. The others in your team reckon you can cross safely but you know that the river is showing signs of being unsafe – it’s fast, murky, messy and loud. One of your teammates starts crossing, gets to an island and gives the thumbs up. It looks dangerous to you, but you attempt the crossing anyway as you don’t want to make a fuss.  

Recognising conformity takes self-awareness. It requires noticing when you’re making a decision based on how you think others might see you. Learning to recognise these moments can help you make decisions based on what feels safe to you based on the information you have, your knowledge and risk tolerance. 

• Speak up. If the conditions are changing or you're seeing things that make you think the situation isn’t safe, always let your group know. 
• Ask for others ’ opinion s. Someone else in the group could be feeling the same way as you. Hearing everyone's view point reduces the chance that the quieter group members simply follow the loudest voice.
• Ask yourself, would I do this alone? Before committing to a decision, ask yourself: W ould I do it solo? This helps to separate your own judgement from the pressure to fit in or impress others. If the answer is no, then you don't have to continue.
• Value smart decisions, not bold ones. Focus on smart, safe choices, rather than bold or impressive ones. 

You’ve taken a couple of days off work and driven 3 hours to get to your favourite national park for an overnight tramp. You’ve been planning this trip for months, and while the weather isn’t ideal, you’re keen to push on so you’re not walking in the dark. You’re halfway to the hut for the night, but the conditions are deteriorating, with heavy rain, strong wind and plummeting temperatures. You weren’t prepared for this, but turning back now would make it all a waste of your time and effort, so you continue to push on in worsening conditions. 

W ithout commitment, it can be challenging to stay motivated, especially when a trip in to the outdoors becomes physically challenging and uncomfortable.

When formulati ng an objective, consider what really matters to you. Is it reaching a particular destination, spending time in nature or enjoying time with your companions? 

Keeping these things in mind can make it easier to change your plans or choose an alternative objective if the conditions change and your original plan is no longer safe.

• Set key decision-making points before you leave . Decide specific locations or times when you'll stop and reassess the plan, and the conditions that would make you turn around. C onsciously stop and assess the weather, your pace, conditions and remaining daylight hours. 
• Always have a plan B. Decide on alternative route s, goal s or objective s as part of your trip planning. Each decision-making point should have at least two pre- planned options for what you’ll do based on the circumstances and conditions. Having these backup options make s it easier to change plans without feeling like the trip is wasted.
• Examine your goal. Take time to consider what is driving you r commitment. Is it the time you’ve already invested? T he financial cost? O r the physical effort? Understanding your commitment can help you recognise the role it is playing in your decision-making. 
• Reflect after a trip. Reviewing your trip can give you a different perspective and help you learn from what happened. Consider what went well, what could have gone differently and whether you can reduce risks in the future.  

You’re out on a backcountry skiing trip for the weekend with a group you don’t know that well. One person has taken charge, although you’re not sure whether they appointed themselves as leader or they were nominated by the rest of the group. They are keen to tackle a slope and are adamant there’s no avalanche danger. You aren’t sure but you keep quiet because you assume they have the most experience so must know best.   

Every person in the group has a role to play in avoid ing the expert halo trap. Create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their views and asking questions, regardless of their experience. Having the confidence to speak up when something doesn’t feel right can help the whole group make better decisions.

• Encourage group discussions. Having a leader in a group is a good thing, b ut good leadership doesn’t involve dominance. Good leaders encourage everyone to share their views and be part of the decision-making process. 
• Speak up and invite different views and opinions. Create an environment within a group where everyone's opinion is welcome and valid, even the least experienced members. They are the least likely to fall into the familiarity trap, so use their unique perspective to encourage them to ask questions when things don't feel safe or comfortable. 
• Ask yourself: Based on what I know, am I comfortable with this decision? Before committing to a decision, consider if you would do it solo. This helps to separate your own judgment from the influence of others. If the answer is no, then speak out.
• Make decisions together. Key safety decisions should be made by involving everyone and creating an environment where everyone is comfortable voicing concerns. 

You’ve got a free weekend and time away from your family – the only time you’ll get before the end of winter. The forecast is for deteriorating weather but there’s a small weather window that should give you enough time for the mountaineering objective you’ve got planned, and it feels like now or never. The day gets off to a perfect start, but as it goes on, cloud begins to close in. As you start your final descent, visibility deteriorates and you’re caught in a whiteout. Within an hour, heavy snow is falling, making it a challenge to get back to the safety of the hut. 

When making decisions in the outdoors, try to put aside your personal agenda and take time to review the facts. B efore a trip and along the way, consider the evidence, including the weather forecast, current conditions, how you’re feeling and how much daylight you have left. 

• Remind yourself of the bigger picture. It's easy to get caught up thinking that you won't have the opportunity again. But that's not necessarily true. Returning safely from a trip means that you will have the opportunity to try again.
• Set key decision-making points before you leave . Decide specific locations or times when you'll stop and reassess the plan, and the conditions that would make you turn around. Consciously stop and assess the weather, your pace, conditions and remaining daylight hours. 
• Value smart decisions, not bold ones. Focus on smart, safe choices, rather than bold or impressive ones. 
• Always have a plan B. Decide on an alternative route, goal or objective as part of your trip planning. Having backup options makes it easier to change plans without feeling like the trip is wasted.

You’re skiing in the backcountry for the day.  You’ve checked the avalanche forecast so you know the danger rating for the area, and you’ve come up with a plan to descend a ridge rather than go through the bowl because it avoids avalanche terrain. But when you get to the ridge, you see ski tracks through the bowl. The tracks give you confidence that it must be safe, so you decide to ditch your original plan and ski the bowl instead.  

Assessing hazards and conditions before making a decision takes time and mental effort, and w e all naturally look for ways to make these decisions easier. Having e vidence that someone else has been somewhere or done something before us can feel like an easy way to judge whether it’s safe. B ut in the outdoors, other people’s actions don’t tell us whether the conditions are right for us. We need to take the time to make our own assessment. 

• Start with the hazard, not the tracks. Assess the conditions first and decide what is safe before factoring in where others have gone.
• Set key decision-making points before you leave . Decide specific locations or times when you'll stop and reassess the plan, and the conditions that would make you turn around. Consciously stop and assess the weather, your pace, conditions and remaining daylight hours. 
• Treat tracks as information not validation. Tracks show where people went, not that it is safe. They may have got lucky or conditions may have since changed. As sess the current conditions and take into consideration your skills before making a decision for yourself. 

Before following others, stop and consider:  

• Are they more prepared, experienced or skilled than I am?

• Do they know something I don’t?

• Have the conditions changed?

• If I hadn’t seen someone else doing this, would I still give it a try?

Mental shortcuts, also called heuristics, are quick decision-making tools our brains use to save time and effort. Recognising common traps like familiarity, conformity, or goal commitment helps trampers and hikers make safer decisions.

Mental shortcuts can cause people to underestimate hazards, follow others without questioning or push on in unsafe conditions. In the outdoors, where weather and terrain change quickly, these decisions may result in serious incidents or fatalities.

You can avoid mental shortcut traps by treating each trip as new, setting decision points in advance, encouraging group discussions and always having a plan B.

The six most common heuristics linked to outdoor accidents are:

• Familiarity – assuming conditions are the same as before.
• Conformity – following others to fit in.
• Commitment – pushing on because of the time and effort you’ve already invested.
• Expert Halo – relying too heavily on one person’s judgment.
• Scarcity – making risky choices out of fear of missing out.
• Social Proof – assuming it’s safe because others did it.