Risky Bizness

Climber types often get all navel-gazey and philosophical when they start talking about risk, aka consequences, aka seriousness. Which, I guess, is fun for them. And fair enough, ‘cause I’m not interested in denying them something they find valuable.

I am interested, though, in what role risk plays in my own climbing. Because I honestly think it’s a real small role. I don’t place gear, I get all elvisy climbing above protection, I don’t do much highballing (and I do no “serious” highballing with real “consequences”). Nearly all of my favorite routes/problems are pretty short, and I love them for the moves, holds, and sequences not the scare/adrenaline/whatever.

Or maybe, I’ve become a little immune to the basic level of risk we all accept when we go climbing. An awkward fall could still kill me, even if I’m just 4 feet off the ground on a V3. But the thought never crosses my mind. Does that mean those risks I ignore are not a part of the appeal of climbing, or just that I’m not consciously aware of them?

I tell myself that I don’t take a lot of risks, and I kind of cringe whenever someone defines risk as a personal benefit vs. odds of serious injury/death inequality (you know, if benefit > odds of death/major breakage then have at it!). Because to me, risk is a much more complex set of questions and relationships than that. What about your friends and family? What about the folks who will be taking care of your comatose ass when you deck? Etc. Etc.

Risk, to me, is not a personal decision with personal consequences. It’s a personal decision with personal and social consequences. Which makes it much harder to pin down. So when folks do crazy bold shit and talk about the freedom and joy of risking death or whatever, I can’t really follow them. I don’t think that’s freedom or joy.

It’s also possible that I’m just some kind of milquetoast. Likely, in fact.

Add Post To: