Deep Survival, the book by Laurence Gonzales, never really interested me. The byline of ‘Who Lives, who Dies and Why’ just seemed testoterone saturated. Well there is testosterone but there it is alongside good science. The latest research in how the brain works as well as psychology is applied to why accidents occur. Or actually, why people do stupid things and get into accidents.
There is the story of a SAR team in Alaska rescuing a snowmobiler. They are on snowmobiles too. They are also out in the backcountry when the threat of avalanches is high. So on the way back after the rescue, why did two members of the team going charging up a slope triggering an avalanche? Two folks died.
A river out west is at flood stage. It is out of its banks and there are big trees being carried down stream. Why did two commercially guided trips launch despite these obvious hazards? We won’t know, the two people who died were the guides.
Gonzales goes into mental and emotional processes and breaks them down. Explaining what is happening and how danger gets blocked out even when it should be obvious.
There has been times where I made a decision but I felt haunted. It was the right decision, but why? There was nothing analytical about it, it was gut feel. Turns out, gut feel is a key piece in staying safe.
sam
