Risk vs Rewards Poll

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Which of the following most closely describes your current approach to risk taking in the mountains?

1) I'm addicted to pushing past all my perceived limits.
15
11%
2) I get a rush out of pushing right up to my limits back then back off
35
25%
3) I discovered what my limits were and now I give myself plenty of margin
51
37%
4) I have no idea what my limits are and no desire to push enough to find out
8
6%
5) I'm generally somewhere in the middle but occasionally do something reckless
29
21%
 
Total votes: 138
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hokiehead
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Re: Risk vs Rewards Poll

Post by hokiehead »

I voted 3, but like others feel there's unavailable options between 2 and 3 that I wanted to select.
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bdloftin77
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Re: Risk vs Rewards Poll

Post by bdloftin77 »

I wanted to say that I generally know where my limits are. Sometimes I challenge myself, but I don’t really want to say I push myself right up to or beyond those limits. But not necessarily stay WELL beyond them either. So I chose #5.
GK83
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Re: Risk vs Rewards Poll

Post by GK83 »

I feel like the options don't really line up with how most of us consider risk in the mountains... for example, what are the consequences of an action? I'm not all that worried about things where the result of judging risk incorrectly is a cold night out for example, for that kind of thing I want to occasionally go well past the limit so I have a better understanding of where the limit is... for things where the consequence is death or serious injury I want to leave myself a large buffer most of the time, with the caveat that likely these kinds of risk are not entirely controllable short of not being in the mountains to start with, you can control your ability and where you are but at some point you are accepting that there are risk you cannot control, and in fact how close you think you are to your limit has very little to do with the actual risk I don't feel like that is represented in the options in the survey, for example, I'm willing to tolerate very high risk I can control, like an X rated pitch well below my limit, I'm much less tolerant of objective danger, say a serac over the route...

I'm also curious where adrenaline comes into the picture in the context of climbing/mountaineering? maybe I'm doing it wrong but I've spent quite a bit of time in pretty high-risk alpine terrain and there's not much adrenaline to be had unless things are going really badly, and at that point, I really don't want to be there in the moment...or in some of those cases revisit it in memory all that often either, I tend to look at climbing as an anti-adrenaline junky sport, but I wonder if I'm in the minority?
to be clear I think there is a big difference between being scared and having an adrenaline response, I've been on climbs where I was scared from the time I left basecamp until I was back, but there was no rush, maybe contemplating if you can retreat or not generates adrenaline for some people? definitely something different for me and partners I climb high-risk stuff with.
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ChrisinAZ
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Re: Risk vs Rewards Poll

Post by ChrisinAZ »

Depends on the risk, honestly, though I've backed off a bit as I've gotten older and have more to lose. I've definitely pushed myself with driving/hiking very long days and have done a good deal of solo hiking these past several years (having an Inreach and generally picking less risky routes/living in the Southeast helps), though I still seek out partners when possible for the sketchier things. I've found myself more inclined to rope up for something I might have risked scrambling in the past, though I'm still willing to attempt those routes. One of my biggest changes is being far less inclined to pursue those "moonlit ranch hikes" than I used to--for the record, virtually none of them were in Colorado--though I may at some point when the threat to my career is lower. I'm still pushing my limits and have big plans for the immediate future, but am increasingly less reticent to hire a guide if I'm truly in over my head, and can't go with a truly trusted partner; one failed attempt on Baker due to not fully vetting one of my climbing partners was enough!
"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason."
— Jack Handy


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Salient
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Re: Risk vs Rewards Poll

Post by Salient »

Being as I am one of if not the only under 18s here, it makes sense that I would be willing to push past all my perceived limits and I’ve wanted a chance to for awhile now.
Be the best you that you can be.
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coopereitel
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Re: Risk vs Rewards Poll

Post by coopereitel »

Salient wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 7:03 am Being as I am one of if not the only under 18s here, it makes sense that I would be willing to push past all my perceived limits and I’ve wanted a chance to for awhile now.
Lol, I'm 17 and picked the same one
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Re: Risk vs Rewards Poll

Post by JaredJohnson »

I've got 7 kids. I am very averse to dying, and my wife also really doesn't want me to die. I am pretty aware of my limits, which I continually work to increase with great success. The result is a lot of stuff that gives me quite a rush and that inexperienced people often perceive as reckless. But I think it can be objectively established that I am keeping my risk low enough that I can expect my extensive mountain activities won't be the cause of my demise in the next few decades. I've had a couple of humbling experiences that showed me i was closer than I'd calculated to getting hurt, but I think they didn't quite creep up into the single digits, % wise.

I can't really decide on an answer to the poll because it sort of implies that you'll always feel safe if you always are safe. Knowing I'm safe but feeling like I'm not is something I enjoy (:
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nyker
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Re: Risk vs Rewards Poll

Post by nyker »

JaredJohnson wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 7:32 am I've got 7 kids.

...and you have time to climb?? :shock:
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Re: Risk vs Rewards Poll

Post by JaredJohnson »

nyker wrote: Sat Sep 25, 2021 8:30 pm
JaredJohnson wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 7:32 am I've got 7 kids.

...and you have time to climb?? :shock:
Gotta do something to hang on to sanity 8)
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