Free Soloing Deaths

A far better analogy is soloing and suicide. The person that dies leaves all the wreckage behind for family and other loved ones.

Anyone who chooses to solo must consider the grief they may inflict on myriad others.

It's more than personal.

Along this line, I have heard that the accident rate on twisty mountain roads is much less than that on wide open freeways.

There is no safe place: only a linkage of choice and experience, for a limited time, either alone or with people you care about.

Think, imagine, all the times you have been in harm's way in life and didn't even know it. Where you in death's reach during many points in your 7000 leads? Was that auto accident eluding you because you left the house 5 minutes late?

It comes down to active and passive risk taking. When you choose to risk, whether by solo, rope, car, diet, & etc, your apparaisal of the risk is only approximate, but it is done with a degree of awareness. Awareness is a funny thing in this regard and we often comfort ourselves with a certain ignorance.

I choose active risk taking, where my resolve and tenacity are openly tested, where I can meet life and grow in response to adversity. Passive risk taking, meaning risk we undergo without a clear awareness, represents to me a missed opportunity to be awake and alive: It envelopes a delusion of safety and much of it is unavoidable.

Many times as a guide, I explained the value of a bit of free soloing to help sharpen the leading skill. How many times have I been on lead, only to find that the gear or situation was really one much the same as a free solo? This preparedness and familiarity of that condition has been crucial. The free solo and the lead have blurred lines.

We live much of life in delusion per the risks. Yes we can mitigate our exposure. Our choices in the end are highly personal and must be carefully applied. There is no safe place. Awareness, judgement, and courage must be wrought, moment by moment.

What I see as a core isssue here (aside from the notable concept of exposing children to death, which is a horror for sure), is this concept that is brought up quite often on these forums: the touchy subject of external controls[passive controls] vs internal controls[judgement].

Dig:
In the olden days, before Ben Hur, climbers were super duper into exposing themselves to a style of ascent which brought out the best in instincts, judgement, self reliance. It really was meant and practiced in the spirit of mountaineering and total self sufficiency. (leader never laybacks,leader never falls!) This meant more with less. It meant commitment. Dare I say there is a certain genius in boldness, but, but, this only comes about through extensive time commitment and all out focus.

In modern times, there are more and more people getting [into] climbing, which still is very close to a true blood sport, confused with mere recreation. Yes, it can be recreation and it doesn't have to be a blood sport any longer. But: this concept that wearing a helmet, leading vs soloing, bolting vs placing gear, over bolting vs artful runouts, this is a concept which is contributing a lot of reliance on passive control, thereby helping the concept of rigorous internal control to slip to the rear of our collective and individual consciousness.

This IS dangerous!

It's probably good that people now wear helmets, but as ALPSPITZ said a month ago on super topo: "A helmet is no substitute for judgement".

Our culture (particularly American culture) is heavily invested in external controls and slowly losing grasp of sacrifice and commitment. The flexible, adaptive and ACTIVE mental and physical capacity which results in the individual gets lost when we rely more and more on external controls.

Sport climbing is great. Gyms are wonderfull for kids and many of us who have diminished free time.

The issue I am underscoring is the delusional thinking cultivated in people who are over invested in external controls and under enriched in internal controls. This style of personal developement is very risky when it is applied to the "blood sport" milieu of trad climbing. It is less risky when applied to highly controlled climbing environments, but it is still a problem. People, climbers, need too develope a balanced understanding of the risks as well as a balanced application of there own self assesment skills.

If you think you shouldn't free solo: don't.
If you feel like you could: think again.

I believe competent free soloing is not the domain of the climbing masses, yet I say, to some degree, it has a place in most any trad climber's repertoire. Such as: certain descents and mountainous approach terrain. The whole definition of third class is the historical and practical reference: meaning ground which is harder than 2nd class and easier than 4th class, ground whereby one typically does not use a rope but where a fall may be fatal.

For more difficult free soloing to be enriching and relatively sane, there has to be present within the individual a very well seated recognition of positive outcome, a certainty, within the mind-body.

Most of my friends, as they age, solo less. Given their aging tissues and diminished time contact with stone,(whereby mental pathways are less reconnected with nerves and willing physique), they should be reaching a conclusion to solo less.

They as well should lead less difficult stuff and stay within their comfort zones, unless there activity level is highly sustained as in there brilliant youth.

When I was a very young lead climber, 13 years old, I recognized the risks and proceeded with extreme caution, staying well within my zone, before learning to push the envelope.

Young or old, This is the same type of internal assesment skill which every risk taker needs to begin to develope from day one. It is risk management 101.

I'm falling right now and I intend to survive.
(totally deluded)!