Comments on a Times editorial?

Any comments on this piece  on the opinion page of the Seattle Times?

seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2...88_dougmercer22.html

I didn't think the author broke any new ground here.  Instead, he rehashed a few of the usual themes (the transformation of cultural perceptions of mountain landscapes; the view of climbers as thrill seekers addicted to dopamine; the idea that experts die, too; et cetera), while offering himself up in older-but-wiser-grizzled-veteran mode.  However, I'd very much like to use the phrase "earthly excrescences" at least once in a trip report, and I hope to do so soon. 

Don't know if that's the sort of response you had in mind, but it's what came to me at 5:45 on a holiday morning. 

enjoy,

Mark

Well, that was kind of boring. I don't think I could use icons of our lifestyles to compare my goofy little pucker experiences. Fatherhood has made me a little less hone. But my children have been given the Mountains to explore.

Speaking of banalities, he seems to have reduced the need to ski to marketing and dopamine.

The question of risk and reward vs potential consequences is a good one but it is very poorly presented here.  Humans did not evolve indoors.  The need to experience nature, overcome physical challenges and to be excited while playing are things I would hate to live without.

My perception of the article is that it is shallow and preachy.  He could have done a better job by more fully exploring his changing attitudes toward risk.  As you age you may make different (wiser) choices regarding acceptable risk levels but you are still engaged in the same risk vs reward experience.  Being in the mountains brings meaning to your life as does fatherhood.

At the end of January I will be a father for the first time.  I hope to:

1) Stay alive despite my continuing fascination with the mountains.
2) Encourage my daughter (at some point) to experience the fulfillment that the mountains bring to me.

There have been times when I might have died in the mountains.  I can only hope my daughter will be smarter.  It will be my turn to be anxious for someone's safety as I am sure others have beeen anxious for mine in the past. 

I thought Doug Mercer's op/ed piece was okay, but I think the author missed or glossed over one of the biggest factors that leads young people to accept high risk in mountain sports: the desire for peer recognition. This is especially strong among those who aspire to be at the leading edge of their sports. It doesn't get talked about very much. My impression is that people deeply engaged in this phase of their lives don't like to acknowledge this motivation. One of the reasons people mellow out as they get older and have families is that they find other means of affirmation.

The article author is simply saying that it is snow season again and the death reports are going to start coming in again in a dreadfully predictable manner. People in the news media tend to feed on the negative view of things.

I like the idea that people can enjoy the primitive nature of the snowy outdoors.  Every time I am out there, I feel that it is a significant experience in my life.  The problem might be that while tragic accidents make the news, the expanding number of folks having a positive experiences don't.  The chance to get close to God and Nature is not to be understated.

We aren't going to stop driving because people die in traffic accidents.  And, we aren't going to stop climbing and skiing because people make bad decisions that get them into trouble.  So, let's focus on the positive nature of our pursuits while also pursuing safety.