RRC Archives

climbers are nothing but criminals...

who dont commit crimes


kind of a silly article but sort of interesting as well.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8558837

i guess i would catagorize myself as a high sensation person but I don't
think i take unwarrented risks. it is all about risk management....but that is probably not what my mom would say. still now i can just say, " mom if i quit climbing I will become a junkie"

Makes sense to me!

Lots of quotes from our best mountaneers.

A friend of mine showed me a summary of a study involving risk and the theory that resulted from it. I can't find the exact study, however, there seems to me multiple studies of the same theory posed in different scenarios:

http://www.nous.org.uk/risk.html

Basically: "This is the theory that humans behave in such a way that if a risk is identified in a given system, and is reduced by design, then a compensatory increase in risk-taking will occur somewhere else in the system. Thus, in an experiment in Germany, drivers of taxis provided with better brakes tended to drive worse than drivers not so supplied, although their accident rate remained constant."

Supppose that climbers were required by law to wear helmets, climbers would then take greater risks to achieve their desired level of risk. fascinating theory, particularly in today's world where we are trying make everything mindlessly safe; cars that think when making turns, which just make us drive faster, etc. Blast that free thought!

Interesitng article merrick: I am HIGH in all 4 categories! But at a very HIGH cost. But now I get my kicks ...climbing. It's cheaper than cocaine and easier on the marriage than mulltiple sex partners.

Makes perfect sense to me....why do you think outdoor rehab and troubled kids centers are using climbing as a way of counseling. It works. Keeps them off drugs and keeps them out of trouble. Which is why I have a hard time with this one mother I know....her husband and son want to start climbing and we took them once (without her knowing) but she is REALLY against her son climbing (she can't really stop her husband) but here is a healthy activity that father and son want to do together and she REFUSES to even talk about it. The son is SO into it, he scabs up all our climbing mags and he has only gone once and is in love. IT would be so good for him. He's kinda of tall and scrawny and I think he likes it because he know it will toughen him up a little and it gives him confidence he walks a little taller.......but it's forbidden! To me that's like mom saying.... "Son, I want you to go, at the age of 14 and make babies, snort some coke, gamble and lay around and play video games!" Yet he is allowed to play with guns (well, he is a really good shot and knows a lot about guns and is safe, so it's not 'play' really) and he has a dirt bike that she, I guess feels is MUCH safer than climbing.....

sorry....this article just brought out my frustration with this particular case - please excuse the ramble....

Except the fact we all are crazy!

I consider it therapy for the crazy....I didn't feel normal till I started climbing.

spuzo wrote:I consider it therapy for the crazy....I didn't feel normal till I started climbing.

you didn't become normal. The people you referenced as normal changed.

well I would have gone into all that about how normalcy is in the eye of the beholder, much like beauty.....but I feel that most of you are all deep thinkers on here and would understand without the explanation. But yes......my frame of reference changed a little....journalists are all a little nutty too and for a long time, I considered that normal.