Friday, May 25, 2012

Give it an Everest.

I was listening to cbc radio this morning and there was a segment about a woman who recently died climbing Everest and what's being done to make it more safe.  MORE safe?  It's not supposed to be safe.  That's the point.  You take safety precautions and make sure you're skilled enough to do it, don't insult the mountain.  Don't mock nature. 

William Shatner explains it all in his music video "Shatner on the mount" available on YouTube.

Everest is very safe.  For the largest mountain on earth anyways. If you're competent at mountaineering risks should be  minimal.. but you'renever going to eliminate the risk factor.  Nor should you. 

The same can be said for children's playgrounds .  Safety is artificial and goes against human nature.  If something is too safe, people will seek out their adrenaline rush some other way.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Reed you are one heartless bastard.

reedsolomon.matr1x at gmail.com said...

I am a bit callous, I admit. I'm sympathetic to the family of the woman who died, but where is reward without risk? There was always a chance that accidents can happen. Everest is not a controlled environment. The only reason there is meaning in conquering it is that it is supposed to be difficult and dangerous. The idea that nature can be made safe is nonsensical to me.