Delivering Adventure

People have been recording their adventures for tens of thousands of years. From cave drawings, to songs, to cell phone selfies and GoPro videos. Wanting to have a record of our achievements has always been a very human need. Capturing our adventures is an integral part of the experience that helps us to tell the story of what happened. When done well, it can add value to an experience and dependi...

How can we adapt to new cultures when we are travelling or working aboard? In this episode we look at culture from the perspective of being an international visitor or someone working in another culture. Being immersed in another culture gives us a unique opportunity to see how other people live. It also gives us a great opportunity to see what it feels like to be a visitor. You may find yourself...

What do leaders need to be aware of when they are leading people from different cultures? People from different cultures may use different language, and have different customs, behaviours, values and even risk tolerances than you are used to. They may also have different expectations and tastes, as well as a different world view. What may be acceptable to you, may not be acceptable to them and vic...

Why is it so important to imagine the worst-case scenario? What happens when we don’t? In this episode of Delivering Adventure, Chris and Jordy share a few examples from their adventure industry careers to illustrate the importance of considering the worst-case scenario. They also talk about some of the factors that can compromise our ability to foresee what can happen if things don’t go to plan a...

Why is it so hard to make good decisions in higher risk situations? High risk situations are ones where a mistake, a miscalculation or a mishap can lead to serious or unmanageable consequences. These situations are the ones where uncertainty and the threat of experiencing serious consequences can apply pressure that can cloud our judgment. In this episode Chris and Jordy are joined by Colin Zachar...

How can we manage hazardous attitudes in ourselves and others? The FAA in the US has identified five hazardous attitudes that are present in human caused airline crashes. These five attitudes are anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho and resignation. These attitudes can negatively impact judgment in any risk-taking situation. In this episode Geoff Powter shares how we can manage thes...

How can our attitude affect our decision-making? The Federal Aviation Agency in the US has identified five specific attitudes that are present in airline accidents when human error is the cause of the crash or mishap. They have labeled these attitudes, the five hazardous attitudes. These attitudes are anti-authority, invulnerability, impulsivity, macho, and resignation. Each of these attitudes can...

Longevity Delivering Adventure with Nadio Hachey What does it take to enjoy a long career as an adventure guide, instructor or manager? The reality is that there is quite a high rate of attrition in the adventure industry when it comes to guides and instructors. It can be costly to get certifications and experience in both time and money. It can be physically demanding. It can also be far from fin...

Smart Risk Taking with Barry Blanchard How can you know when to actually take a risk on a personal or professional level? What would a good risk, or a smart risk look like before and after? In this episode Chris and Jordy are joined by world renowned Alpinist, ACMG / IFMGA Mountain Guide, speaker, author and friend of the show, Barry Blanchard to discuss what a Smart Risk looks like. Barry Blancha...

When it comes to delivering adventure, the difference between control and chaos can be as little as one small mistake. A situation can seem to be under complete control one moment and the next it can be spiralling away. The worst-case scenario for leaders often starts with something small. It can be a trip, a fall, a moment of butter fingers, or some other unforeseeable fumble or mistake. In this...

How can we improve the decision making in others? When we are delivering adventure to others, it isn’t just the leader that needs to have good judgment. In every activity, there is a degree of decision-making skills that participants are going to need to be able to have, and if they don’t, the odds of achieving a good outcome start to go down. There is of course another dimension to this in that m...

How can leaders use self-reflection as a development tool with others? Self-reflection is one of the most effective learning and development tools that a leader can use with themselves and their team members. Self-reflection can help everyone to learn from any mistakes that were made, flaws in systems that were uses, and to analyze actions that were taken. When guides and instructors use reflectio...

How can we use self-reflection to improve our decision making, performance and experience delivery? One of the best ways to undertake personal growth as an individual, a risk-taker and leader is to build self-reflection into our day. Self-reflection can help us to improve our performance, decision making, our delivery of information, and our relationships. While experience can be an essential tool...

How can you keep control over a group without creating conflict? This is something that even the most experienced leader can find challenging.  When people trust their leader’s decision making and are content to follow the leader’s directions, being the leader of the group can be easy. However, most people are not willing to blindly follow their leader’s direction. An important human nee...

What stops us from practising good self-care even when we know we should? What can we do about it? We all know that practicing good self-care is important. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy. In this episode of Delivering Adventure, Sarah Janin returns to share a story of a time where she inadvertently neglected her self-care which led to some fairly serious consequences. This leads into a great...

How do you build trust? The ability to build trust is an important skill for anyone who wants to build and maintain relationships. It is also essential tool for a coach, instructor and guide to have if they want to help the people they are leading to achieve adventure. When people do not trust their leader, they are more likely to challenge decisions, question intentions and second guess direction...

How do our human needs affect our judgement? What happens fro our decision making if our needs are not being met? Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Bruce Wilson joins Chris and Jordy to discuss the relationship between needs and judgment. Bruce Wilson is an ACMG Hiking Guide, a sea kayak guide and guide trainer for the Association of Sea Kayak Guides. He is an avalanche educator for the Canadian...

How can we improve our ability to read people? Being able to accurately interpret the people we are leading so that we can see things from their perspective helps us with decision making and problem solving. It can also help us to build trust and to recognize when their needs are not being met. In this episode, Lee Povey joins Chris and Jordy to discuss how we can al improve our emotional int...

How do you become a great instructor? No instructor or guide wants to be mediocre. Few students or guests want their instructor to deliver an average performance. This would hardly improve learning, create great stories or build positive memories. So how can instructors, coaches and guides be great? One person who has worked extremely hard to become consistently great at instructing and guiding is...

How do you deal with challenging people on an adventure? This is a challenge that can test even the most experienced and prepared leader. When it comes to delivering adventure, people can be grumpy. They can have unrealistic expectations. They can show up to an adventure with personal issues. They may not have the resiliency needed to manage or overcome challenges. Some people are socially awkward...

How can technology enhance our adventure experiences on skis? Is it possible that ski coaches, instructors and guides can be replaced by technology all together? In this episode we touch on these questions as we explore Carv with Morgan Engel and Alex Jackson. Carv is a small device that skiers can affix to their ski boots that analyzes their movement patterns as they ski. The data that Carv colle...

How do you stay positive under duress? It doesn’t matter how adventurous, fit, risk tolerant or determined you are. At some point, you will find yourself in a situation where it becomes hard to stay positive or even to find the will to keep going. It could be as simple as sitting on a cold wet chairlift, riding your bike on a long climb that feels endless or out on a hike that seems to go on...

How can we help others when they are experiencing distress? We have all been in situations with friends, family or clients who are experiencing distress due to adversity. These challenging moments can come when people have suffered an injury, illness, or are working through physical or mental discomfort. When we find ourselves in these situations, knowing what to say, what to avoid saying, or how...

An essential adventure and life skill is the ability to be adaptable. Being adaptable allows us to adjust to change and to keep our cool when we find ourselves in adverse or stressful situations. In 2005, Wells Jones set out to retrace the path of the famous soldier and adventurer TE Lawrence - also known as Lawrence of Arabia. The goal of this trip was to prepare for an acting role. On that trip,...

When it comes to adventure sports, one of the best ways to manage risk is to ensure that you are as physically durable as possible. Being physically durable allows you to withstand physical challenges, mistakes and mishaps like falls.  In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Leslie Desrosiers. Dr. Leslie is the founder of ACL Strong. ACL Strong is a comprehensive online strength training and ex...