Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man:A Field Guide to Leadership in the Great Outdoors Chapter 33

This is the thirty-third of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.

Chapter 33: On the Ball.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV

In the days of yesteryear, time measurement was relevant to your specific location and purpose. Individual towns would have their own standard of time based on the local observation of solar noon. Even in the mountain man’s time of yesteryear, time measurement was really only relevant and important to measure the passing of days, weeks, and seasons, especially for the trapping and trading parties to know when to head to the pre-arranged meeting place for the annual rendezvous location to trade their year’s worth of work for money and much needed supplies. Knowing the exact second, minute, or hour didn’t carry very much importance in the days of yesteryear until travel became faster and more mechanized and carried people faster and further than a man or horse could walk. Time measurement was very important for determining location on the open seas utilizing John Harrison's brilliant solution to the longitude problem, but did not factor highly into overland travel until the industrial revolution was well under way.

In 1891, there was a terrible railroad accident in which two trains heading the opposite direction ended up on the same track and had a deadly head-on collision. Since there was no standard of time measurement or time keeping, as each town, region, or transportation company kept their own time system based on local measurements and calculations, it was anyone’s guess which clock any given railroad company or train engineer was operating by. This is the very scenario that placed two trains heading in opposite directions on the same track. One train was running four minutes slow and the other train believed the first train to have passed and the track to be empty. As there was no universal timekeeping standard in place prior to this accident, neither train crew suspected anything was amiss. In the history of this accident, it is believed that one of the train conductor’s watch stopped for four minutes without his knowledge, which is why he believed his train was on schedule. Without a standard synchronized time system in place, however, what one person’s watch read was a moot point. This was literally a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

To ensure this situation did not repeat as more and more trains and overland travel companies were being established, an Ohio jeweler by the name of Webb C. Ball was appointed as the keeper of universal official railroad time, along with the responsibility of establishing the strict standards and requirements for the clocks and pocket watches to keep that official time. These pocket watches had to meet or exceed certain stringent requirements to earn the designation of “Official Railroad Standard” timepieces. From this time in history on, great efforts were made on synchronizing and keeping time. This is where the saying “On the Ball” originates; when a train arrived exactly on-time as scheduled, it was evident to all that the conductor and engineer of the train were utilizing Ball’s timekeeping standards.

For the modern-day mountain man, observing and keeping time carries the same importance as it did in days of yesteryear. Designing, implementing and operating programs should always be completed around time appropriate schedules. When an outdoor leader or program keeps to a schedule agreed upon with other staff and customers, it helps set the precedent that the people leading and operating the program are reliable and professional.

Rarely does the timekeeping aspect at a camp or conference center rely on the need of observing time to the hundredths or tenths of a second, that exact timing is usually reserved for situations or events that involve great precision. However, it is important to remember that seconds turn into minutes, and minutes turn into delays which can quickly frustrate even the most well-planned programs. I once worked on a local sales route in a different career field where I had as many as fifty sales stops in a day. While a minute behind schedule on one stop may seem insignificant, if every stop has a minute delay, the time behind schedule can quickly add up to almost an hour, and that is assuming only one minute’s delay per stop. This is not to say that the outdoor leader should not be flexible or adaptable in regards to timing or scheduling, as there will inevitably be circumstances and situations that will be unpredictable and out of the control of even the best laid schedules and plans. The point being, when the schedule can be closely adhered to, it should be.

During training periods in preparation for an upcoming education program or camp season it was always a priority to instill being on-time whenever possible. Sometimes this concept was difficult for new or inexperienced staff to appreciate, especially staff that arrived without a watch, but after a short time of experiencing on-time programming, the general consensus was that being on-time made every aspect of the program function much smoother. If, for instance, a staff member conducting a morning program goes over on time by ten minutes a decision must then be made if the next session will be shortened by ten minutes, usually meaning those students or campers will miss out on time they need, or if they entire schedule of the program at the site will be adjusted by ten minutes. There really is no good way to fix this problem, as a high functioning program or facility has all of the parts and pieces so interconnected that everyone will be affected by any slight change of time. For example, if a decision is made to push back all programs by ten or fifteen minutes, meal times will also have to be adjusted, which will directly impact all of the dining hall staff and clean-up staff in a negative way. The simplest solution is to make every effort to adhere to the schedule as it is written. When designing or scheduling programs it is a good idea to incorporate intentional break periods and travel times between different program areas into the daily schedule to allow a time period to utilize if program time’s exceed the original time plan. The opposite is also true and should be expected of staff. If a customer is paying for a certain time of program or activity, the staff should deliver the program until the scheduled time period is completed, no ending early.

The instances previously mentioned may be just an inconvenience or annoyance, or even worse make you and your program appear unprofessional and incompetent, but there are times in the great outdoors when following a strict schedule can be a matter of life and death. When traveling in the high mountains or over any rough or adverse terrain, having a definite departure and arrival time is not only essential for the success of your program, but is negligence if you don’t establish such a plan. Water based activities, especially SCUBA diving, should also adhere to strict time tables and plans.

"On the Ball."

There is a phenomena that happens when people are in the high mountains called “summit fever.” In my experience however, this mindset is not limited to mountain climbing, but can happen anytime and anywhere people cast aside good planning and judgement in favor of some arbitrary goal. When “summit fever” sets in it doesn't matter what conditions are being experienced or what time plan was previously established, a push for the summit is made. Many lives have been lost to “summit fever.” A competent and professional guide will always set a turn-around time that will not be changed or altered and is determined by ability, conditions, equipment and attitudes. If the turn-around time arrives, the modern-day mountain man must turn the group around and head back to a pre-established point. It is always better to hurt a person’s feelings than their bodies. The great outdoors are neither malevolent or benevolent, nature doesn’t care if you reach your goal or summit. The professional guide or outdoor leader must be the one who cares and makes the best timely decisions based on what is best for himself and the people in his care.

In conclusion, keeping yourself, the programs and the site you are leading “On the Ball” is not only a sign of professionalism and competency, but can in fact be the sole deciding factor between living and dying. Time began when our Creator set the universe in motion and time will continue to pass for mankind until the end of days. Mankind has no control over the passing of seasons or years, but the modern-day mountain man can and should use the powers of observation and timekeeping tools to keep ourselves and our programs on the right track.