Pre-Season Prep for the Wicked Learning Environment

We’ve been thinking a lot recently about the uncanny nature of human behavior. We are fickle. And we get accustomed to routines, and damn, do we love positive feedback loops.

Many of us have heard experts and laypeople alike refer to the learning environments as either “wicked” or “kind.” As far as I can tell, the concept of a wicked learning environment was coined by psychologist Robin Hogarth, who specialized in judgment and decision-making. (Credit where credit is due.) For clarity, let’s get a baseline for both the wicked and kind learning environments, respectively. Journalist David Epstein’s Substack, Range Widely, offers clear definitions, which I have cited below. 

Kind: “You can think of kind learning environments as situations that are governed by stable rules and repetitive patterns; feedback is quick and accurate, and work next year will look like work last year. Think golf or chess: a ball or piece is moved according to rules and within defined boundaries; a consequence is quickly apparent; and similar challenges occur repeatedly.”

Wicked: “In wicked learning environments, rules may change, if there are rules at all; patterns don’t just repeat; feedback could be absent, delayed, or inaccurate; all sorts of complicated human dynamics might be involved, and work next year may not look like work last year.”

Spend a day in complex terrain, or even simple terrain with a complex snowpack, and the requirements for good decision-making, we hope, are self-evident. Snowy mountains, when the intent is to venture higher and further and seek out some snow sliding bliss, are the poster children for the wicked learning environment. But let’s not get scared away just yet. Let’s just approach this with some humility and willingness to educate ourselves.

Although it is high and dry here in the PNW, it is not elsewhere. It seemed to have morphed from pre-season to in-season overnight in portions of the Sierra. And East Coast folks are getting their due. Either way, it is early season, but still, avalanche season. That said, we don’t always recommend taking a time out to watch a specific video. But in looking for pre-season primers regarding preparing for travel in a wicked learning environment, we thankfully bumped into this roughly thirty-minute nugget from the 2024 Wyoming Snow and Avalanche Workshop titled “How to Prep for the Season Like a Pro.” From a cost-benefit perspective, this presentation offers numerous valuable reminders for everyone. At a minimum, it might allow you to recall a forgotten skill set or practice, or, if you are early in your mountain-exploration phase of life, you’ll learn something new. The point is this: you’ll be taking a respite from the noise around you so you can think, prepare, and be the best version of yourself traveling into and out of the mountains. No doubt you matter to the people around you, so we want you to come home after a day of touring. 

Happy early-season preparation. And make sure you have the p-tex and helmet handy in these low-tide conditions.