Comments on: Meru https://www.habitablezone.com/2015/12/31/meru/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:18:10 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: bowser https://www.habitablezone.com/2015/12/31/meru/#comment-34920 bowser Mon, 04 Jan 2016 21:51:39 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=54310#comment-34920 Anyone with any sense, or sense of their mortality, selects their selves out. I've met some and wondered how they could do some things. You are correct, it doesn't occur to them that they could die. Even so, they don't seem to take chances they don't have to. They have good equipment, they use it appropriately. I've seen 'em practicing knots they already know, practice tying them one-handed, in the dark, anything to ensure competence. I know they wouldn't do it if they felt the fear I do just looking at it. Anyone with any sense, or sense of their mortality, selects their selves out. I’ve met some and wondered how they could do some things. You are correct, it doesn’t occur to them that they could die.

Even so, they don’t seem to take chances they don’t have to. They have good equipment, they use it appropriately. I’ve seen ‘em practicing knots they already know, practice tying them one-handed, in the dark, anything to ensure competence.

I know they wouldn’t do it if they felt the fear I do just looking at it.

]]> By: mcfly https://www.habitablezone.com/2015/12/31/meru/#comment-34876 mcfly Sat, 02 Jan 2016 03:27:00 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=54310#comment-34876 I've since read that the other two climbers, Chin and Ozturk (who I'd never heard of either), are very well-regarded in the climbing community. However, each of them has been separately involved in truly terrifying accidents unrelated to their Meru adventure. Chin offered an interesting quote in another film (paraphrasing): Climbers don't have a sense of immortality--rather, they simply have no sense of mortality at all. I’ve since read that the other two climbers, Chin and Ozturk (who I’d never heard of either), are very well-regarded in the climbing community. However, each of them has been separately involved in truly terrifying accidents unrelated to their Meru adventure.

Chin offered an interesting quote in another film (paraphrasing): Climbers don’t have a sense of immortality–rather, they simply have no sense of mortality at all.

]]> By: bowser https://www.habitablezone.com/2015/12/31/meru/#comment-34870 bowser Fri, 01 Jan 2016 17:09:58 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=54310#comment-34870 Conrad Anker is a well-known serious mountain climber. The other two I've never heard of. There's a saying my flying instructor had: "There are old pilots, there are bold pilots, there are no old, bold pilots." Same with climbers. Anker simply cannot control all the risks in this type of climbing. Avalanches aren't always predictable, protection fails, one mis-ties knots, people get goofy from altitude, equipment breaks or otherwise fails, stuff gets dropped, everything takes too long and supplies run short, someone breaks a leg, the list is endless. If one can control the risks, fine. But when you can't, as is the case here, that's flat dangerous. It will catch up with people eventually. Conrad Anker is a well-known serious mountain climber. The other two I’ve never heard of.
There’s a saying my flying instructor had: “There are old pilots, there are bold pilots, there are no old, bold pilots.” Same with climbers.
Anker simply cannot control all the risks in this type of climbing. Avalanches aren’t always predictable, protection fails, one mis-ties knots, people get goofy from altitude, equipment breaks or otherwise fails, stuff gets dropped, everything takes too long and supplies run short, someone breaks a leg, the list is endless.
If one can control the risks, fine. But when you can’t, as is the case here, that’s flat dangerous. It will catch up with people eventually.

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