What is it that we fear......

[rpdawes]

Did you recover your keys?

[reinselc]

Yes I did. Very fortunate. Especially because my wife and I had left my kids at a hotel in Breckinridge with my mother.

[rpdawes]

The same thing happened to me while hiking up to San Luis Peak last June. I had to abort my hike after I found out that I misplaced my keys somewhere along the trail. I carefully scanned the trail for my keys while doing downhill. Finally I found the keys right next to my car. What a sigh of relief! I was in a very isolated country.

[DArcyS]

The #1 thing I fear while on a 14er is the drive home. Seriously, I think it's the most dangerous part of the whole activity...

If you do this long enough, you'll probably end up knowing more people who perish in the mountains than die on the car ride home. There are far more threads here on 14ers.com about people having accidents on mountains than on their drive home. This has become something of an urban legend that never seems to fade away.

[ClimbandMine]

The #1 thing I fear while on a 14er is the drive home. Seriously, I think it's the most dangerous part of the whole activity...

If you do this long enough, you'll probably end up knowing more people who perish in the mountains than die on the car ride home. There are far more threads here on 14ers.com about people having accidents on mountains than on their drive home. This has become something of an urban legend that never seems to fade away.

So 450 people have died this year on mountains? Nope.

450 people this year have died this year in car accidents in Colorado.

[Jim Davies]

Apples and oranges. There's about one traffic death per 100 million vehicle miles, and one climber death per 100,000 days. Climbing (especially on the harder peaks) is way more dangerous.

[DArcyS]

The #1 thing I fear while on a 14er is the drive home. Seriously, I think it's the most dangerous part of the whole activity...

If you do this long enough, you'll probably end up knowing more people who perish in the mountains than die on the car ride home. There are far more threads here on 14ers.com about people having accidents on mountains than on their drive home. This has become something of an urban legend that never seems to fade away.

So 450 people have died this year on mountains? Nope.

450 people this year have died this year in car accidents in Colorado.

Lol . . . nice troll.

Unless you truly don't understand that more people would die on mountains if they climbed as much as they drove. (Edit: as Jim stated.)

[Eli Boardman]

Apples and oranges. There's about one traffic death per 100 million vehicle miles, and one climber death per 100,000 days. Climbing (especially on the harder peaks) is way more dangerous.

I wasn't talking about statistics; statistics can be used to prove just about anything. However, the OP mentioned a route well within our abilities on a good weather day, and I would hazard a guess that quite a few climbing/hiking accidents happen when people get caught in bad weather or end up in harder terrain than they are comfortable with.

But personally, driving I70 in heavy weekend traffic, especially in a snowstorm or at night, scares me way more than soloing 5.2 routes on the Flatirons. As a new driver, I think that for me, it probably is the most dangerous part. YMMV.

[jdorje]

I suspect on most hikes the drive is more dangerous than the hike. Most hikes have near zero danger (or mathematically negative danger, since every hour spent exercising extends your life expectancy by some amount). Even with the drive, the danger remains incredibly low obviously - driving isn't inherently dangerous.

It's the minority of climbs that present the vast majority of the danger.

[KentonB]

My car not starting up when I get back to it, cold, tired and hungry after a long day.

That actually happened to me... Broken fuel pump. Got back and wouldn't start at all... completely dead. Ended up getting it towed to Frisco and since all the mechanics were closed, I had to rent a vehicle to get home, plus take a day off work to pick it up the next week. As a result, Quandary was the most expensive 14er I ever climbed!

[14erFred]

Climbers’ perspectives on fear typically fall somewhere between two extremes – (1) fear as a dreaded enemy versus (2) fear as an invaluable companion.

On the one hand, here are three quotes that embody the view of fear as a foe to be avoided:

“No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.”
— Edmund Burke

“Fear is the mind-killer.”
—Frank Herbert

“I’m afraid to be afraid.”
— Catherine Destivelle

On the other hand, here are six quotes (all from climbers) that reflect the view of fear as a friend to be embraced:

“Beware if you do not experience fear in the mountains. Not to do so would mean that one was devoid of feeling and no longer able to experience the supreme joy of knowing that one has mastered fear.”
— Walter Bonatti

“The moment of terror is the beginning of life.”
— Mark Twight

“Fear makes us human. Without it, we are just robots. Our doubts, fears, and nerves make us fight and try harder in every aspect of life, and give meaning to those efforts.”
— Josune Bereziartu

“If I don’t fear what could happen, I could get too relaxed. Fear keeps me safe.”
— Kevin Jorgeson

“Fear and dread are my life insurance.”
— Erhard Loretan

“Fear is just a reminder to get it right the first time.”
— Scott Arne

Perhaps both perspectives capture a piece of the truth. Whereas too much fear can paralyze us and create debilitating tunnel-vision, a moderate (optimal) level of fear can keep us focused and on our toes.

[TallGrass]

Perhaps both perspectives capture a piece of the truth. Whereas too much fear can paralyze us and create debilitating tunnel-vision, a moderate (optimal) level of fear can keep us focused and on our toes.

Fear as a body's response to the unknown -- the situation's unknowns, our ability's unknowns -- can go two ways.
When focused by a plan it becomes action directed toward a solution.
Without focus it becomes panic posing risk to all in its directionless range.

When hair rises and adrenaline flows, I focus on the plan.
When I find I have no plan, I focus on making one.

Then I start hammering.