*** (3 Stars)
This article evaluates whether high-risk mountain sports are really worth the risk. The author has seen numerous friends die doing these sports (mountain climbing, paragliding, etc).
Will Gadd has seen 27 friends die on the mountains. He used to believe that he had just as great a chance of dying on his way to the mountains as he did on the mountains. His view has changed as he witnessed, first hand, one of his good friends crash into a mountain-side while paragliding. His friend is now struggling in hospital to overcome spinal damage. Gadd no longer paraglides and does not understand how people can be so foolish as to think they aren't increasing their risk of death.
This article certainly makes one evaluate some of the risks we take in life. Especially for teenagers, the idea that "it won't happen to me" allows us to push ourselves beyond our real levels of comfort. In reality, activities in the outdoors do put us in situations where, at times, even skill cannot save us. It is an understanding that we make with ourselves that we are prepared to put ourselves in such dangerous situations. Its frightening to see what experiencing such a traumatic accident can have on ones outlook on life. Gadd has completed changed how he approaches mountain sports, and likely, many other aspects of his life. While I understand that he has experienced something which I cannot attempt to understand, I wonder whether his new attitude means he is no longer living the life he wants. I certainly do not want to become someone who refuses to take any risks out of fear of what might happen. That being said, there are definitely times when one must make a smart choice.
Find this article at:
http://explore-mag.com/2831/adventure/the-grand-delusion
