Dangerous forms of recreation

What do you think of people who enjoy dangerous forms of recreation? Do you admire their fearlessness? Ridicule their foolishness? Ignore them entirely?

Personally, I think they’re idiots. But it’s their life, so let them live it (or not) they way they wish. So long as their actions don’t affect me in any way, that is. If people BASE jumping causes my insurance rates to go up for some reason, then I have an interest to protect. Otherwise, let them jump. Sure people get killed. Big deal. Think of it as evolution in action.

If you’re an adult and single go for it. It’s your life and if it makes you feel alive more power to you.
However, once you’ve got a wife and kids you need to knock that shit off and start thinking about them instead of yourself.

A wise man once told me “…there’s a line line between brave and stupid.” I think a lot of folks who indulge in obviously dangerous recreational activities tend to stray to the opposite side of that line.

What is your definition of dangerous behavior? I am a perpetual flight student and I like to cruise around in small planes with an instructor. I don’t think it is that dangerous because of the instructor and the mostly clear weather that we fly in. I would also go skydiving in a second if the opportunity ever presented itself. There are truly dangerous sports like bull riding, motorcycle racing, and noodling and I have no interest in those.

I don’t really understand it and have just concluded that some people require a great deal more stimulation that I do to feel happy and excited about something. A nice hike on a beautiful day or a new book by a favorite author is enough for me.

As long as I’m not forced to do it, put at risk by it, pay for it, clean up after it, or am otherwise adversely effected by it, more power to you!

Define “dangerous”!

I used to skydive a lot. There is a difference between taking a calculated risk and being reckless - if you go into a “high risk” activity carefully, train properly and use the right equipment (whatever that may be) then that’s taking a calculated risk and even if the activity isn’t something I’d personally like to try I still respect the approach and can appreciate the thrill of it.

If someone goes in with no regard for those things, especially if they are putting other peoples’ lives or property at risk, then I tend to take a dim view of that.

F1 race car driver as opposed to moron who decides to drive his Corvette 150mph on the freeway out here.

There are certainly people who think that any mildly risky activity is reckless, period, no matter how it’s approached. I have a friend who honestly thinks that mountain climbing is insane and stupid because it requires no skill or training, puts other peoples’ lives at risk (he’s talking about SAR teams) and is just as dangerous as (this is a direct quote) “Sleeping with AIDS whores in Thailand”. Obviously his threshold is far different than mine. I’ve seen that same guy do things like throw heavy logs off the rim of the Yosemite valley during the busiest time of the year with zero regard for who or what is down below.

At this stage in life, I ask what they’re looking for.

It’s like when I watched a couple of minutes of Caddyshack the other day, the bit with Lacey Davenport talking about watching bull fights on acid and the like. How jaded, bored or terrified of living a normal life is she that she throws herself at the extremes? Now granted, given her father, she perhaps has a cause to rebel, but still…

What is she really looking for? What is she afraid of?

I think there’s a deep-down need for some peril and danger, life is too safe and easy in many cases. I think as long as you take the proper precautions, it’s not such a bad thing and you come out with a better perspective and better appreciation of life. Small insignificant problems in life don’t matter as much after you’ve planned, executed, and survived a dangerous activity.

I’ve been whitewater rafting, mountain climbing (nothing extreme, just going up a steep no-trail mountainside in West Virginia), and caving many times. Plus I ride a motorcycle.

If I knew someone who engaged in dangerous sports, and if they were young and single, I wouldn’t really care much. I’d feel bad for their parents and friends if something happened to them, but that’s it.

If they had kids, I’d think they were a total jackass for putting their spouse and kids in that position.

It’s none of my business, and I wouldn’t say anything to anyone who wasn’t a family member, but that’s what I’d think.

This has been a hot topic here in Canada lately:

A number of people have been killed in avalanches over the past few weeks.

These guysweren’t, but it wasn’t because they didn’t try.

Cheers!

However what degree of danger or risk divides acceptable and unacceptable to you? Is it only recreational activities that concerns you? For example there are parents and grandparents who are active skydivers, is that bad but the fact that they are soldiers or cops or firefighters OK (all jobs with definite risks of serious injury and death)? What if running a skydiving DZ is how they earn their living? Is a parent who smokes different than a parent who is a professional climber?

Note that I’m not talking about people who do these things with blatant disregard for accepted training, equipment, procedures and so on (see my F1 vs reckless driver example).

I enjoy mountain biking and flying trapeze. Both have elements of risk, but I am more likely to die because of my 30 mile commute than either one. I think if you choose an activity simply because of the chance of death (be it eating fugu or jumping across rooftops) you may have issues. But we take risks everyday. I mountain bike down steep technical trails because I like the challenge of controlling the bike, not because I want to risk death. If I have a choice of two trails that are identical to ride except one has 100 foot drop if you go of the trail and the other you end up in a thick bed of grass, I would choose to ride the second (and I always wear my helmet).

Jonathan

When it comes to things like skydiving I’m more in the camp of “Why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?”

But these flying suitslook like fun

I have no problem with it, if as stated, the risk is calculated and prepared for.

In the case of the famous last words of a redneck, “Hey y’all, watch this!” I consider that to be a thinning of the herd.

This discussion reminded me of my favorite quote from Hemingway- “Old men don’t grow wise, they grow careful.”

Lacey Underall. Yeah. :smiley:

My brother used to skydive for fun (now he does it for work), and he is a SCUBA diving instructor and recreational diver. He has also done some Nitrox and mixed-gas diving. It’s a bitch to get life insurance, but other than that, I’m fine with it.

During the 10 years I drove race cars, 2 others paid the ultimate price for choosing driving race cars as a hobby. I was caught in in one of the crashes. Despite the dangers I continued to drive and it never crossed my mind that I could die doing something I loved. Looking at the safety requirements of today with the total lack of safety equipment I used when I drove, I consider myself to be very lucky.

Standard response is “There is no such thing as a perfectly good airplane”.

It’s not very easy to describe exactly how it feels to step out of a vehicle three miles high into clear blue skies on a nice warm day and fly with your friends. People who have done it know what I’m talking about and why we do it.

And of course you can ask this question about any activity - why climb a tree? Why ride a horse? Why go boating? All carry real risks of injury and death, but a rational approach is to learn about and understand the degree of risk, minimize it as much as possible and then go enjoy yourself. I think part of the extreme reaction to certain activities like climbing Everest or skydiving is born out of ignorance - I don’t mean that in a mean way, just a statement of fact that the vast majority of people will never do anything like that and they don’t really understand the actual risks and preparation involved. Fear of these things is, I think, a very natural reaction/survival trait - your brain says “That’s a completely unfamiliar environment, it’s definitely dangerous, I am out of my depth here, avoid this!” As you learn more about it and gain experience and confidence you lose fear; you can also enjoy the activity more - a pleasure that is distinct from the rush you get doing something the first time where you know that you’re out of your depth. Becoming less fearful should not result in losing respect for the risks though - that is complaceny about safety and it gets people killed.

For example my hundredth skydive was a far different experience than my first - I wasn’t so absolutely wound up on adrenaline, I was much calmer and could relax and enjoy what I was doing with my friends. However it was still very much in my brain that the number one task is “Land safely” so I still did all of my safety checks starting on the ground and continuing up until I was out the door and was a good body pilot all the way down to a nice soft landing and getting off the field.

R.e. those wing suits - much more evolved now but back in the 1950s those suits killed a lot of people who tried them. Very different than a regular jumpsuit.

I am a little short of additional life goals right now but that is definitely one. It will probably have to wait until the kids grow up and are out of college but I am doing it if at all possible.