Breakout Sessions - 2017 Leadership Conference

Thank you for your interest in the 2017 Leadership Conference, scheduled for Saturday, December 2 at the Seattle Program Center in Magnuson Park. Please find full descriptions of our sessions listed below. Information will be updated as it becomes available, so please check back for additional information.

For a printable version of the 2017 Leadership Conference schedule, please click here.

For a printable version of the 2017 Lunchtime Mini-Sessions schedule, please click here.

Opening Keynote, 9:00-10:00am

From Freeze-dried Food to Funky Feet: Trail Talk from an Old Dirt Kicker

J.R. HARRIS, Brokenbo Wilderness Expeditions

I’ve been kicking trail dirt for more than 50 years, and during that time, I’ve met a lot of people who are curious about what it’s like to be out there. In this presentation, I’ll discuss some of the wilderness issues or questions that people are most curious about, and I'll share a brief list of life lessons that I have learned along the way. These comments will provide insight and a perspective that may be helpful to outdoors leaders, mentors, and influencers who encounter people with similar questions, to encourage them to go outdoors and to enjoy it safely. Link to bio.
Book Signing! J.R. Harris will be available sign copies of his new book during the evening social hour from 5-6pm, at the conclusion of the Leadership Conference. Copies of Way Out There will be available for purchase in the Bookstore throughout the day!

Session 1, 10:10-11:10am

Teaching Outdoor Skills: Break It Down!

Brian Carpenter, The Mountaineers

Teaching outdoor skills that we instinctively know or have years of experience with can be challenging when faced with a student who does not share our skill set or background. The Break it Down technique offers one way of teaching skills to new learners. We will explore how the technique can make students successful learners and make you a better instructor. Link to bio.

Trailhead Talks: The Importance of Creating Community Before Your Trip Even Starts

Amberleigh Hammond, Student Conservation Association

Participant well-being, (mental) health, and the ability to provide self-care play largely into group culture and success, especially on volunteer led outings. Learn how to create community and empower your group to have a successful trip, whether you reach the summit or not. Link to bio.

Influence, inspire, enjoy ... better relationships through EQ fitness

Sherryl Christie, Best Practice, Inc

Relationships. Nearly everything we do involves relationships. Emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) is about relationships...and you can make yours even better!

Emotional intelligence is a skill. Like any other skill it can be improved with intention, focus, and practice, practice, practice. Fortunately, most of us have lots of opportunity to practice!

Join Master Coach Sherryl Christie for this exploration of emotional intelligence, what it is and how it works, and walk away with a training plan on how to up your EQ fitness in all of your relationships.

So why strengthen your EQ?

Get more enjoyment from your personal relationships...which is an especially good thing before the holidays!
Connect more quickly with trip participants and other leaders...helping to align group goals, increase safety, build collaboration, and have more fun.
Perform better at work...research shows that those with higher EQ get more done, have more opportunity for promotion, and make more money…which makes it all that much more enjoyable.

Come join us...let's do this thing! Link to bio.

Session 1 & 2 (Double session), 10:10am-12:20pm

Uncovering Unconscious Bias for More Inclusive Outdoor Experiences

Ava Holliday, The Avarna Group

In this 2 hour presentation, participants will learn basic definitions for foundational concepts like diversity, equity, inclusion and cultural competence. Then we will discuss how unconscious bias prevents us from doing our best diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work on an individual, institutional, and industry-wide level. You will leave with a framework and some tools on how to better integrate DEI efforts into your trips and leadership skills in service of running more inclusive outings. Link to bio.

Session 2, 11:20am-12:20pm

Student Management and Group Culture

Erika Kercher Halm, Northwest Outward Bound School

Learn how to use student management skills and techniques from the Outward Bound playbook to promote a positive group culture and set your participants up for success. In addition to exploring different ways of proactively establishing positive group culture, we will also use scenarios to practice addressing challenging student behaviors and actions. You will come away with a few more tips and tricks to add to your student management toolkit. Link to bio.

Balancing Risk

Rick Vance, Black Diamond

Risk is a valuable part of outdoor adventure activities, but as activity leaders, we must balance the many aspects of risk to provide the best experience for ourselves and our participants. In this session, we’ll discuss the importance of risk and it’s many faces - ranging from physical to legal liability - and how we balance them in risk based activities on both an individual and a group level. Link to bio.

Growing Into Leadership: Learning From Our "Mistakes"

Panel: Mountaineers Leaders, The Mountaineers

Panelists will discuss their various learnings from years of practice and experience on the trail with The Mountaineers. Our panel of experienced leaders will also discuss how they have grown into their own personal leadership style through trial and error, how they are continuing to grow as leaders, and how mentorship can play a key role in leadership development. This session is suited to both new leaders and mentors alike! Link to bios.

Lunchtime Mini-Sessions, 12:30-1:10pm

Food Dehydration

Felicia Wibowo / Karen Cramer

Learn techniques for making your own dehydrated trail meals and snacks.

Freedom 9 Updates

Steve McClure

Overview of key updates in the ninth edition of Freedom of the Hills. Of primary interest to course curricula authors. Focus on revisions to the Ten Essentials, changes to layering systems, clothing, stoves, fuel, and water purification.

Landscape Photography

Skye Stoury

Learn how to easily take landscape photos while on the trail. You don’t need a camera to take great photos on your trips! Learn about composition and sharing your photos on Instagram.

Yoga*

Betsy Robblee

Stretch and strengthen your muscles, reinvigorate your energy, and clear your mind!
* Please note that attendees should bring their own yoga or exercise mats for this session. The Mountaineers will not provide mats this year. Please be sure to label your mat with your full name! Attendees will have the opportunity to store their mats in a secure place during break-out sessions.

Core Fitness*

Courtenay Schurman, MS, CSCS

Learn more about how the Peak Fitness exercises (from our magazine's quarterly wellness column) can complement your routine. Practice balance, muscle activation, and core integrative movements specific to all mountaineering endeavors, from pack carrying to paddling. Get ready to be energized for the afternoon sessions!
* Please note that attendees should bring their own yoga or exercise mats for this session. The Mountaineers will not provide mats this year. Please be sure to label your mat with your full name! Attendees will have the opportunity to store their mats in a secure place during break-out sessions.

Team Rescue Demo

Seattle Mountain Rescue

Members of Seattle Mountain Rescue will set-up and operate a rescue rigging system! The group will discuss why they use particular techniques, and they will also present some of the team processes for making operations both safe and fast. Questions welcome!

Friction Slab Tour

John Wick

You’ve seen them rise up from the North Plaza ... and now they're finally done! Take a tour of the Friction Slabs and learn about how they might be able to be incorporated into your courses!

LUNCHTIME MINI-SESSIONS, 1:20-2:00PM

FOOD DEHYDRATION

FELICIA WIBOWO / KAREN CRAMER

Learn techniques for making your own dehydrated trail meals and snacks.

Common Injuries & Injury Prevention

Becca Catlin, PT

Dive into interactive movement analysis and learn a few things about your movement strategies. Learn about several common injuries and general patterns that are often at play when these injuries creep up, as well as how to avoid these injuries.

Knots 101

Nick Block

What's the difference between a knot and a hitch? What about a bite versus a loop? Up your knot knowledge and best practices in this lunchtime session.

Wilderness Navigation in the Digital Age

Brian Seater

The core wilderness navigation tools of map, compass, and altimeter have remained relatively unchanged for decades. It’s time to pull your maps into the 21st century. There are a variety of digital mapping tools available that put tons of information at your finger tips, and they let you create custom printed maps. We will explore some of these tools (specifically CalTopo), as well as how to integrate online mapping with a GPS device.

TEAM RESCUE DEMO

SEATTLE MOUNTAIN RESCUE

FRICTION SLAB TOUR

JOHN WICK

You’ve seen them rise up from the North Plaza ... and now they're finally done! Take a tour of the Friction Slabs and learn about how they might be able to be incorporated into your courses!

Session 3, 2:10-3:10pm

Liability Traps in the Volunteeer-Based Recreation Arena

Ruth Nielsen, Keating, Bucklin & McCormack

As a volunteer leader – what do you need to know to be prepared for that worst case scenario of an accident that might lead to a lawsuit? Learn about the tools and training to keep you in the mountains and away from the courthouse. This session will include a discussion of liability releases and duty of care, and what that means for you as a volunteer leader pertaining to volunteer statutes, standards, and best practices. Link to bio.

Deliberate Communication

Laura Schildkraut, Onboarding Gen Y

Effective Communication is critical for virtually anything to be accomplished. It impacts training, collaboration, management, and leadership. This presentation focuses on four key things to think about before content is even considered, and how to assure that the content drives desired outcomes. Link to bio.

Divided We Fall: Short Stories of Companionship and Chaos

Bree Loewen, Seattle Mountain Rescue

Stories about backcountry accidents: sometimes funny, and sometimes terrifying. We all want to be able to learn from other people’s mistakes, but this presentation isn’t a step-by-step breakdown of lessons learned. Sometimes, a good narrative sticks better than advice and admonishment and a checklist of do’s and don’ts. This is just history without moralization. Link to bio.
Book Signing! Bree Loewen will be available sign copies of her new book during the evening social hour from 5-6pm, at the conclusion of the Leadership Conference. Copies of Found will be available for purchase in the Bookstore throughout the day!

Wade Into Discomfort: Leading with Compassion

Brian Nelson, Grit360

This presentation will discuss the importance of leadership in the 21st century. Leadership is both the problem and the solution. Effective leadership is invasive and makes the leader vulnerable. The most consistent path into compassion, tolerance, and humble leadership is from a willingness to enter into discomfort. Link to bio.

Session 4, 3:20-4:20pm

The Bridge: Inserting the Critical Bridge Between Meaningless Events and Valuable Experience

Ken Wylie, Mountains for Growth

In 2003, while working as an assistant guide, Ken Wylie was involved in a devastating avalanche catastrophe in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia. Since then, his self-exploration has changed how he sees and understands the purpose of high-stakes endeavours. Consequence can be a great mentor, but experience is not gained by simply living through an event. Ken’s presentation chronicles his process of reflection, post-tragedy, and complements the 2014 publication of his book Buried. “The Bridge” is about having the courage to be accountable for an event's most unsavoury elements, as well as the ability to embody the personal and professional lessons that will improve our performance in the future. Link to bio.

The Learning Lens

Andy Rubesch, PSIA-NW, Skibacks Ski & Snowboard School

Explore a new model for observing learning. We will discuss and apply a Learning Lens to use in coaching and training situations in order to be responsive to the needs of your students. Link to bio.

Forming Compatible and Cohesive Groups

Tom Unger, The Mountaineers

For long trips, especially those with a goal, it is important and most enjoyable to go with a group that has shared goals and compatible styles. How do we find these people? How do we ferret out the subtle differences that may cause conflict in the field? How do we build a team that will work together well and enjoy each other's company? Teams must share goals, agree to expectations, have compatible styles, and all have required skills for the trip. Tom will present a framework for thinking about goals, expectations, style, and skills. Using this framework will help you find compatible people and form a team that is enjoyable to work and travel with. Link to bio.

Panel: Integrating Stewardship and Low-Impact Recreation as a Mountaineers Leader

Various Agencies

This panel discussion will provide the opportunity to hear directly from our land managers. Panelists will discuss various ways that trip leaders can incorporate low-impact recreation best practices into their group activities, and they will also highlight stewardship opportunities for our community. Link to bios.

4:30-5:00pm

Recognition of the Freedom 9 Volunteer Contributors

Helen Cherullo, Tom Vogl, and Eric Linxweiler, The Mountaineers

In lieu of a closing keynote, we'll take a few minutes to recognize and celebrate the volunteers who contributed to the newest edition of Freedom of the Hills, The Mountaineers' flagship publication.