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General Climbing Discussion

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Dano Osman - Insane Speed Climbing 2-May-2006 At 9:10:23 PM shmalec

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I think this is really about whether you respect him for his achievements or whether you think he wasted his life on stunts that had a bad influence on perceptions of the sport. If you look at what he achieved and what value these achievements have, all I can see is a guy getting a buzz out of taking risks. Ok – fine, he enjoyed himself. Does this mean I should idolize him for having fun. Not really, lots of people have fun – his kind of fun cost him his life. So did his achievements lead the way to something that the rest of us can carry on, something lasting and valuable? I can respect an early mountaineer who took on enormous risks. They paved the way for a new and incredibly rewording kind of adventure that millions have followed. They went to places no one else had gone and saw things no one else had seen. What has Dan O’s actions paved the way for? A faster speed ascent? A bigger rope jump? What can we take away from it? Its very entertaining. But I don’t like to encourage street performers to set fire to them selves or jump onto broken glass, if it means they will get injured. So, he’s just a climber that threw his life away and happened to leave some entertaining stuff behind.

with respect to people seeing his speed climbing video, I would suggest that the vast majority of people who have email will have seen it. It crosses my inbox every six months. I agree that the hollywood portrayal is more damaging to the sport generally.

with respect to people dying doing other things, the numbers are not relevant, it’s the relative risk that is. I bet hundreds of people die in the bath each year, this does not mean that there is no such thing as recklessly throwing your life away.

Interesting discussion.