Letter from the CEO Lessons Learned
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n a snowy Saturday in April, I joined nearly 200 trip leaders and volunteers to attend the CMC’s Backcountry Incident Review Conference. The idea for the conference came to me almost a year ago via trip leader extraordinaire Ryan Ross. Ryan and I started meeting a year ago to discuss holding an annual “lessons learned” type conference, not only for the benefit of CMC leaders and members, but for anyone else interested in becoming a leader or member. Over that year, Ryan and his team of volunteers worked tirelessly to put together a professional and well organized day-long conference. The event featured speakers who discussed CMC trips that experienced a serious incident (sometimes the outcome was good and sometimes it wasn’t) as well as presentations from professionals in the field such as esteemed outdoor recreation leader Cathy Hansen Stamp and Chris Barnes from the High Mountain Institute in Leadville. During my tenure as CEO for the Colorado Mountain Club, we have unfortunately seen a high number of serious incidents. As we all know, the activities we love offer risk and uncertainty at times. It is my great hope that continuing education and learning from opportunities like the Backcountry Incident Review Conference will help to mitigate these risks and, when accidents do happen, ensure that the leaders and members on our trips are as prepared as they can be. I can’t thank Ryan and his committee enough for putting on such a dynamic and informational session. Thank you to all of our leaders who are the backbone of this organization and lead our members daily into the landscapes of Colorado and beyond. Our leaders provide the most tangible and memorable member experience that we offer.
Katie Blackett Chief Executive Officer Trail & Timberline
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