Woman left behind. Injured hiker left alone while the group tags the summit. Hiker falls behind. Group keeps going. Friends separate on the trail. One doesn't come home.
We've all seen the stories. You've seen Search and Rescue teams post about it. You've read the comments: "How could anyone do that?" "I would NEVER leave my friend behind."
And yet it keeps happening.
So instead of another lecture about staying together, let's talk about why this happens.
Research into group dynamics gives us an important starting point:
A GROUP IS NOT A TEAM.
A group is simply people travelling together. A team has to be built.
This is particularly important with online hiking groups. Eight strangers meeting at a trailhead with the same destination may have completely different fitness levels, risk tolerances, experience and expectations of leadership — even different ideas about what "stay together" means.
Teams that work together develop what researchers call a shared mental model: a common understanding of the objective, the plan, everyone's responsibilities and what happens when circumstances change.
So if you're heading on a significant trip with people you don't regularly hike with, build that BEFORE you leave.
Have a Zoom or in-person meeting. Put up the map. Discuss the route, pace, weather, communications and exit routes. Who is leading? Who navigates? Who has first aid? Who carries satellite communications?
Most importantly: What happens if someone can't continue?
If your group leader hasn't organized this conversation, offer to start one yourself. The emergency plan shouldn't begin when the emergency does.
And stop normalizing splitting up.
"I'll go ahead and set up camp." No. You wait.
"I'm slower. I'll catch up." No. The group slows down.
"You wait here. We're just going to tag the summit." Absolutely not.
PEOPLE OVER PEAKS. The objective never comes before your team.
If you're organizing the trip, the standard is even higher. Leadership isn't about being the fastest or strongest person. Leadership IS responsibility. If you assemble a group and ask people to follow you into consequential terrain, you have accepted responsibility for the safety and well-being of that group.
And here's something we'd like to see hikers start doing:
THE MOUNTAIN PACT
Next time you start a hike with a group, stand in a circle. Put your hands together in the middle and say this out loud, together:
We walk together.
We rise together.
We turn back together.
We come home together.
I won't leave you.
I know you won't leave me.
It might feel a little ceremonial. That's the point. This is your oath to one another. You're about to trust these people with something considerably more important than whether you reach a summit. You're trusting them with your life.
Normalize it.
But don't blindly trust your safety to strangers either. Vet the people you're travelling with. Carry your own essential equipment. Know the route and forecast. Know how to navigate, survive an unexpected night and call for help.
Your group is another layer of your safety system. It should never be your entire safety system.
Be self-reliant. Don't be selfish.