In this podcast, we sit down with Jenna Malone. At this fall's Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop, Jenna gave a compelling presentation on why avalanche decision making is more like poker than chess. In essence, with chess, we can see all the different pieces of the puzzle; one only needs to "outsmart" her opponent. Poker, on the other hand, involves a little bit of luck and the uncertainty of what cards your opponent holds. Not everything is revealed. Inspired by champion poker player Annie Duke's book Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts, Jenna draws the important themes together for decision making in avalanche terrain, knowing that in this game, the stakes are our very lives.  

Jenna's avalanche education began when she moved to Jackson, Wyoming, in the 1990s, where she joined the pro ski patrol at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and started teaching for NOLS. In 2004, she moved south to attend the University of Utah's Physician Assistant program, and now works in Neurosurgery and Trauma at Intermountain Medical Center. When not working as a PA, she works as a ski patroller at Alta, a guide with Powderbird, and an instructor with the American Avalanche Institute. She has spent three seasons with Denali Rescue Volunteers as a park service medical provider on the West Buttress route. She loves teaching, learning about, and being in and around snow.

Jenna's presentation at the 2019 Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop is below -