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General Climbing Discussion

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Wearing helmets 16-Nov-2005 At 3:11:54 PM 21Cmalaise

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Hmmm, interesting argument from Dalai and Goodvibes - can't say I agree though. I doubt there is much of a correlation between wearing a helmet and having more accidents - for instance, at the very least you would need to know how many accidents involved climbers wearing helmets and how many involved climbers without - in fact there are a great many other details that I can't be bothered listing that you would have to know before making such a claim. Perhaps the reason there are more accidents is because there are a lot more people climbing, many of whom come straight from the gym without adequate training or experience. I have never thought that I can suddenly take a bit of an extra risk simply because I am wearing a helmet - doubt many others have either. This argument sounds suspiciously like an attempt to justify not wearing a helmet because you are always very careful, never place bad protection, always watch your rope, never climb loose rock etc. However, it doesn't matter how long you have been climbing or how experienced you are, accidents happen. And please - although helmets probably won’t save you in a 30 metre ground fall or from being hit from above by a 5kg rock (although I’m sure you have a better chance with one than without) - they could well save your ass in many other situations. Face it the main reason people don't wear helmets is because it doesn't look cool.

And don't bore me senseless by listing all the other potential dangers like crossing the road, eating cereal, eating McDonalds etc. Of course everything has its risks and we constantly evaluate the cost/benefit of these everyday. It is simply about reducing unnecessary risk - I mean, what’s the rope for, what do you clip into gear for, why do you wear a harness? A helmet is simply another part of the safety gear for this sport. I also don’t recall seeing too many professional cricketers batting without helmets either.

Now, strangely enough, despite my little sermon - I don't always wear a helmet - promise I will from now on! No really, I do.