“Risk” is Inherent in the Outdoors

I don’t believe in taking stupid chances. In snowboarding, if you haven’t yet learned how to link turns, don’t go to a narrow, rock-filled chute and try to ride in it.

That being said, there’s a risk in everything, including driving to your favorite ski area. Yet sometimes as humans we have very irrational views of risk.

A commentary in the Wall Street Journal, “The Hazards of Life on the Edge,” (August 28), asks, “Why are there so few guardrails at the Grand Canyon?”

It’s a worthwhile question, considering the silly warning labels we see on consumer products.

The Journal finds an official with the National Park Service, who says, “The Park Service’s goal is to get people out into the park. And we don’t want to take that opportunity away from the public.”

Good for them!

And people who frequent the outdoors understand:

“It seems that those who frequent the outdoors have an aversion to nanny-statism, which allows the Park Service to take a grown-up attitude toward its visitors: ‘Their safety is their responsibility,’ says Ron Terry, Zion [National Park]’s public information officer. ‘We couldn’t possibly put railings up everywhere. It wouldn’t be feasible, nor would we want to.'”

So why the disconnect? It could be that our minds are playing tricks on us:

“‘Most people, including professionals, don’t understand relative risk,'” says Seymour Garte, a professor of occupational health and author of ‘Where We Stand: A Surprising Look at the Real State of Our Planet.’ We get nervous flying a commercial jet yet don’t think twice about driving the highway. ‘People are more often risk averse if they feel they aren’t in control of the exposure,’ Prof. Garte says. The sun may present a clear and present danger, but we generally control how much of it we get, which makes us all too comfortable with getting all too much.”

Is snowboarding dangerous? Yes, and no. It depends on where you are, what you’re doing, who you are (your judgment, primarily) and what kind of preparation you have.