The Nature of Danger

As a climber, young person and general man-about-town I often get or overhear comments about climbing, such as 'oooh isn't that dangerous' or 'oooh I couldn't do that' or 'wow that looks dangerous, you're so manly' (well...sometimes). It makes me sad and a little angry when I hear these comments, because they make me think about something that honestly doesn't enter my mind a lot - how dangerous is this sport that I enjoy so much? So I decided to write about it, and see what you guys think.

I'm going to start with a fundamental truth, from which no one can escape: Climbing is dangerous. There, I said it. Don't come and yell at me; everyone knows and acknowledges this. If they don't, then they are certifiably insane. Those lovely folks at the BMC posts massive info graphics at every climbing center in the country, reminding participants that climbing carries risk of injury or death, and that we all take on those risks by participating. It's even on the footer of their website. That isn't to say everyone who climbs will lose a limb or die or get mangled; incredibly few do, for a sport that has such high participation numbers and takes people to such extreme places as the Swiss Alps, the Peruvian Andes and the exotica of the English Peak District. And that, dear readers, is due to a recognition of risk.

The happy notice in the footer of the BMC website

No one, not even the absolutely mental free-climbing highballers would say that climbing isn't risky; it's one of the reasons we invest eye-wateringly large amounts of money in the latest protection and gear and (some of us at least) will quite willingly spend hours in Snow and Rock, Cotswolds, UrbanRock or any of dozens of other climbing shops picking the strongest, or the lightest or sportiest quickdraw or cam. It's because we're all absolutely terrified of falling and we want to know that the gear we just placed into the wall is the best it can be, to make up for our relative ineptitude at actually placing the stuff. It's why we spend loads of money on Winter Skills courses - we don't want to guess at how to do it and get it wrong.

Danger attracts many of us to climbing in the first place, for at a base fundamental level most of us are massive adrenaline junkies. You only have to look at the top-level climbers and mountaineers such as Berghaus primo Leo Houlding who, once the buzz of going up things has worn off, decide to take up paragliding or wingusit skydiving or any number of high-intensity extreme sports. For most of us, we never reach a level at which climbing cannot provide a buzz - we're never quite good enough. But it must be said that it's the danger of it that makes it fun; that enormous endorphin rush that hits you when you top out of a climb or pass a big crux without falling to your demise. And it doesn't matter about objective risk; in terms of thrill it's the perception of risk that makes it so much fun.

It's accepting and embracing of risk that I believe inherently makes you a safer and better climber. Its
accepting risk that means you have the fear that makes you cling like a man possessed to the rock with massive run out and shaky protection. It's also the accepting of the fact that there is risk that makes you cautious and aware; its what makes you back off a route when the surrounding slopes are aching to avalanche, or the sky is dark with heavy storm clouds and you're approaching a big multi-pitch sea cliff. It's also what makes me buy bright coloured jackets - if I get lost out on a mountain at night, I want Mountain Rescue to be able to find me. I mean it might also be an aesthetic choice but there's logic behind the decisions. No mountain-ninja melting into the darkness for me.

Honestly I believe it's the existence and recognition of risk that makes me a safer climber; if I didn't recognize it, I wouldn't prepare for it. Plus, it makes this stuff fun enough to keep coming back to.

Here's to a summer of safe climbing, but make sure it's fun.