The Seattle Times published an op-ed piece today entitled Dark Side of the Mountain: A Climber's Obligation. Essentially the crux of the article is that while climbers relish in exploring new, and dangerous places, taking risks along the way, they have an obligation to their friends and family to play it safe and come home alive. It questions whether or not the adrenaline rush that we get while climbing is worth the risks, and the heartache it can bring to families when climbers do not return. The author even states that he himself now takes fewer risks since he has become a father, because he owes it to his children to come back alive and be a presence in their life.
It's certainly an interesting discussion to be sure. I'd argue that most climbers, or any other person who undertakes a dangerous activity, doesn't set out to be unsafe in what they do, but accidents do occur and there are things beyond our ability to control that can bring danger to anything we do in life. Mountaineering can be a dangerous activity, but with proper training, the right equipment, and some common sense, much of the danger can be lessened significantly.
Do we owe it to our loved ones to return safe and sound? Yes! I believe we do. But does tht mean we shouldn't partake in the activities we love just because the wilderness can be a dangerous place? No, of course not. We do need to be cautious, and play it safe to be sure. Use some of that common sense I spoke of, and know when we've bitten off more than we can chew. But the activities we love are always going to have an innate sense of danger about them which can never be completely removed. We just have to decide what our individual level of acceptable risk is, and play with the bounds of those levels. We do indeed owe that to our loved ones, and we owe it to ourselves as well.
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