Are you a risk taker? An inquiry about a climber stereotype

I love to climb; indeed, getting scared is part of what makes climbing addicting for me. That said, I don't like to run it out, on gear or bolts, and I am make damn sure that my harness, knots, and gear are good every time. The good part about climbing right now is that 5.10's are still a great challenge; there are tons of climbs I can find that are challenging both physically and mentally without putting myself in positions of lots of risk. I love being in positions of risk wherein the consequences of an accident would be very high, but the likelihood and potential very low. I imagine thats what lets most climbers be cool 1000 feet off of the ground.

However, I am a much better skier than climber. I go fast, big, and hard. I am to the point where if I want to push my ability, I have to put myself into situations where the likelihood of an accident is much higher, simply by virtue of the terrain I ski. It seems likely that at some point, I will fuck up, and then I'm done-so. I find myself gravitating more towards climbing, even after a lifetime of skiing, simply because the world of new rock to climb seems much bigger, safer, and more challenging than the world of snow.

In the end, I love going fast, climbing hard, but I also want to be doing it at age 70.

The Stoned Master wrote:Do you fit the stereotype of a high risk loving (always taking risks) climber? Do you consider yourself a high risk taker even off the rock? Do you drive fast, do you gamble, do you work high on your house unanchored, do you take risky paths in regards to your relationships, do you have a lot of unprotected sex with constantly different partners, etc, etc.

No to all of the above.

For me, climbing is primarily about the movement and an intellectual challenge simultaneous with good exercise. For that reason, I enjoy gym climbing a great deal.

I also enjoy climbing actual rock because it's fun to be out in nature and because it calls for different movements. But I'm happy to keep it as low risk as possible (e.g., stick clipping or placing additional pro on sport routes). For me the enjoyment of climbing has nothing to do with adventure or intentionally placing myself at risk.

Risk, maybe, but it's calculated. Heck, driving in rush hour traffic today was risky!

It burns us! And I'm not even a grammar nazi (seriously my grammar normally is adequate at best).

Alicia looks risky, I'll tell you that

She has a look that implies most would be "assessed" and found wanting

Compliments MY look that most assess and find themselves wanting

Climbing is risky, so all climbers are risk takers. The choices we make to mitigate the risks of climbing put us all somewhere on the continuum of gym-bound top-roper to free soloist. A guide friend of mine once told me (wisely, I believe) that the choice regarding risk mitigation comes down to a climber's assessment of (a) the chances of falling and (b) the consequences of falling.

(For those really into living on the edge, consider asking someone who can neither spell nor punctuate to give you a huge chest tattoo of a phrase and then display the result on the Web.)

Just think how dicked up that tattoo would've been if his chest had "auto-correct"

This question is something I have thought alot about lately. In the last two years I have had two good friends die in the mountains and which has made me question some aspects of my life and why I climb. Professionally I am a safety professional for an international construction company. My job is to mitigate risk on the job and make things as safe as possible. In my private life I am a climber and skier. I consider myself a safe climber I don't however, I do run out easy terrain sometimes 30 or more feet, I do free solo easy terrain on occasion, and I have been known to continue climbing through in-climate weather. From being a safety professional I have a unique perspective on risk and the psychology of risk taking. Personally I see risk that puts other people in harms way as unnecessary, driving fast on public roads, unprotected sex, or even not securing tools on a platform. People need to feel risk in order to affirm there being. There is nothing like overcoming your bodies natural defenses to accomplish a goal. Climbing is a selfish sport wherein generally you put no one but yourself at risk. I think that people need to balance risk with reward and ask themselves who else am I affecting. Having friend pass away in the mountains has mad me realize that even if you do everything right 100% of the time we walk a razors edge between life and death at all times. As humans we need to feel risk in order to affirm our being. But we need to realize that our actions even if they seem to only affect us do affect others more than we could believe.

I think of climbing as safe, compared to the driving on the freeway in rush hour traffic I do here in NM. Driving in NM my plate should read yer gonna die. I am defiantly a risk taker the average person behind me has no insurance and a 5th grade education (if I’m lucky) talks/text more on there phone then looks at the road (They are entitled to that).