Abandoned or Foolish?
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Caption: Where's the Down Trail?*
My suggestions for Elon's efficiency board (see previous post) will have to wait.
This AI generated picture has me jumping the line.
The story is about a Colorado wilderness adventure in late August that could have ended with a dead teammate.
Instead, the teammate (Steve Stephanides) survived the night lost on the side of a mountain in wind and icy rain.
Large questions remain of how and why he was left to make a solo ascent/descent of a 14,000 foot high mountain, (almost 4300 meters).
Was going solo a team decision? Was there conflict? Was leadership befuddled ?
The Search and Rescue team leader suggests all was not well in the group: "In what might cause some awkward encounters at the office in the coming days and weeks, one member of their party was left to complete his final summit push alone."
Another source builds on this freshly sown doubt: "during a company outing, they left (Steve) behind on a trail, forcing him to spend the night alone in the wilderness during a heavy storm."
And more roiling of the murky waters: "Stephanides' colleagues had inexplicably collected belongings left in a boulder field to mark the path down, officials said."
Now is this just the usual journalism pushing-conflict-where-none-exists or was something nefarious going on?
Will there be an After Action Review, an AAR? What will it reveal?
As a participant and leader in numerous outdoor team building events, I see how things can go off the rails.
Once, bowhunters trudged nearby a team's individual solo retreat amidst trees and bushes like the deer they were hunting!
At night, a rowing boat and crew I was ineptly captaining as a participant just missed smashing into coastal rocks.
Or, a participant clad only in shorts and t-shirt could develop hypothermia from an unexpected deluge and temperature drop.
Etc.
As we know, there is risk in any wilderness adventure. Often the higher the controlled risk, the more to be learned.
The best planned adventures are ones that have anticipated most contingencies.
Foremost, you never leave anyone behind.
If a person is slower than the group, assign someone, usually a co-group leader with a satellite phone to stay with the loner.
Always be prepared, as Boy Scouts say, for worst case scenarios.
A first aid kit and expertise in how to use it are essential.
And, if the group is in conflict - like my Tom the Turkey's Tale of a flock intent on pecking to death an injured turkey, one of their own - that has to be resolved on the spot.
Avoidance - which may well have been what occurred on the mountain - is negligence.
Mr. Stephanides appears to want to put this sorry mess behind him. His alma mater (University of Florida) published an interview on October 1, Fueled by determination, double Gator Steve Stephanides survives 30 hours on a Colorado mountain.
The story tells of his survival but makes no reference to why he went solo or why the team did not report him missing until 9PM.
Bottom line: I would stay clear of any future wilderness adventures with this crew of co-workers until there is an AAR with clear resolution of what happened and how to prevent it ever happening again.
*Image created by Microsoft Copilot AI, October 30, 2024.
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John's books can be ordered via these links:
Fables for Leaders
&
Leading from the Middle
Copyright all text by John Lubans 2024
John Lubans - portrait by WSJ