Life is risk

A 34-year-old mother of four visiting from Oregon died on Deem Hills last week. I do the bulk of my training on this mountain, which has about 10 miles of extremely arid, single-track, rocky trails.

She left her phone in her car before heading out late morning on a day when temperatures hit 115 degrees. When she did not return home, her family reached out for help and a rescue operation began. Helicopters circled the area at low altitude for hours. Drones went up programmed to look for the colors/pattern of her clothing. I joined dozens of volunteers and rescue personnel searching for her.

Her body was not found until early evening a few yards off the trail she had set out on. Officials said that although the investigation is ongoing, it is believed her death is heat related. While we will never know the answers to many of the questions now being asked, one thing we can be certain about is that she felt safe and ready enough to enjoy a day on the mountain and probably never imagined her life would be at risk.

Risk is not found only in what we consider “dangerous,” it permeates all aspects of life. Developing an awareness of and appreciation for risk is one of the most important skills you should develop. This is a good time to take stock of your approach to risk mitigation.

—> Take time to do a personal risk assessment, with “Probability of Occurring” on one axis and “Consequence” on the other. Identify aspects of your life that are both “High Probability” and “High Consequence,” and commit to creating a risk mitigation strategy. Suggested aspects of life you should think about include health & wellness, finances, relationships, media consumption, and career/profession. Review this at least once a year.

—> Commit to developing a “risk antenna” that can quickly help you assess risk instinctively and which could be as simple as asking yourself what the biggest risk of the day is while you brush your teeth in the morning.

Note: A GoFundMe page has been created by Jessica’s family. Consider donating at https://gofund.me/df0d1e46.