Taking the time to check in with your group creates an opportunity to discuss what observations mean, whether the conditions are unexpected, and how these conditions might affect travel decisions.

Consider these four areas:

• hazard conditions

• human conditions

• equipment status

• risk management strategy

In the backcountry, you are tasked not only with monitoring changing conditions but also with monitoring each other. Environmental conditions can quickly degrade the capacity of your team to work together effectively. Fatigued or stressed individuals can have difficulty maintaining situational awareness and making decisions. Checking in with your group can help to ensure not just that everyone contributes but also that unchecked fatigue, stress, or conflict doesn't make the group itself a hazard. Use the prompts in your Fieldbook to make sure you don't miss a step when checking in.

The goal of the check-in is to facilitate equal participation in the day’s decisions. To achieve real consensus, ask for and listen to everyone’s opinion regardless of an individual’s level of expertise. As you discuss pertinent observations and the team’s condition, reassess the plan. Is the plan still appropriate for any changes you've observed? Using thresholds and benchmarks your group made note of while planning, modify the plan by using simpler terrain or use your alternate plans. As uncertainty increases, groups have the option to shorten the trip, abort the trip, or choose simpler, less exposed terrain.