Re:The Free Soloist Who Fell to Earth
by palata on Sunday June 25, 2023 @07:09AM
(#36466964)
I don't completely agree. Climbing up a ladder is some kind of free soloing, and you could kill yourself if something really bad happens.
Even walking down stairs is dangerous if you don't master it. That's why we don't let babies close to stairs: they could kill themselves.
But an adult is so confident at using stairs that they don't consider it a risk anymore. Not that accidents never happen, but that is a risk that we are all willing to take because we "master" stair-climbing.
I see it similarly for free solo: one can master it to the point where climbing a route is fairly safe. It would be extremely dangerous for most humans, but for those, it is not. It is still risky, of course, but then some people die skiing slowly on-piste, and we don't say that it was "suicide".
Obviously, some people will take more or less risk when free soloing. But some people take a lot of risks while driving, and we don't say that "driving a car is equivalent to suicide" for most drivers.
Even walking down stairs is dangerous if you don't master it. That's why we don't let babies close to stairs: they could kill themselves.
But an adult is so confident at using stairs that they don't consider it a risk anymore. Not that accidents never happen, but that is a risk that we are all willing to take because we "master" stair-climbing.
I see it similarly for free solo: one can master it to the point where climbing a route is fairly safe. It would be extremely dangerous for most humans, but for those, it is not. It is still risky, of course, but then some people die skiing slowly on-piste, and we don't say that it was "suicide".
Obviously, some people will take more or less risk when free soloing. But some people take a lot of risks while driving, and we don't say that "driving a car is equivalent to suicide" for most drivers.