RISK: THE MOVING FRONTIER
As we go to print the tragic deaths of Marty and Denali Schmidt are all over the internet and television and there has been a huge outpouring of sadness and grief at their loss. They died on K2, a notorious mountain for claiming climber’s lives: Wikipedia states that there is a 25% mortality of climbers that attempt K2, that is a 1 in 4 chance of not making it back – it’s a huge risk. But what do we actually mean by risk? Risk is not derived from any chartable list of activities but from our own inner feelings. Risk, like beauty is often in the eyes (or fears) of the beholder. It is “any act one is afraid of taking.” What is risky to you may not be to someone else. Yet there are still those environments where risk is just a natural element of being there; if you climb a mountain, stand on a volcanoes edge, or walk a tightrope between two buildings, there are real and inherent risks, or more rightly these should be is done. For the Schmidt, there was both a real risk and real danger and catastrophically the roll of the dice went against the Schmidt’s that tragic day on K2.
Risk has a tantalising taste for us all; it is just on a variable scale. When was the last time you took a risk? Was it exciting, frightening, or both? Are you jealous of others who summon the courage to dare something you’d never try?
Whatever risk actually means to you, whether it’s doing something for sheer adventure or making a life-altering decision, there is an internal need to participate at some level. Sometimes the greater the risk, the greater the reward and as we place ourselves in risky environments (dangerous environments) that are out of our control then maybe these bring the greatest rewards of all.
Either way, the chances we take, as well as the ones we avoid, say a lot about who we are. But the questions still remains, why do we do it? Why do we take risks that may end in injury and in some cases in our death? What leads us to want bigger, greater and riskier adventures? Is it genetic? Is it society? Is it something else? Different schools of thought suggest different
There has been some research that suggests that there is a particular DNA sequence that is a forecaster of “novelty seeking” characteristic and that this behaviour is affected by the way the brain cells process a neural messenger called dopamine (which has an addictive quality). The research raises the possibility that there is a genetic predisposition to “novelty seeking”. Novelty seeking means “the desire to seek out new experiences or thrills – to take risks”. Maybe that is the answer.
Whether it’s in our DNA, whether it’s environmental, or weather its incremental (a risk you have slowly increased so that the original risk no longer seems a risk at all). Risk is a fundamental part of who we. In particular in the outdoor pursuits, rafting – biking – walking – climbing - skiing pleasure DNA if not our biological DNA.
Sometimes the element of risk wins, most of the time it doesn’t. We can take all the care in the world, take every precaution, every safety measure and sometimes the gamble does not pay off, unfortunately that gamble is much of the core craving of risk - and surprisingly enough it’s a risk so many of us are willing to take.
When we hear the negative consequence of a risk that has not gone well it makes us re-evaluate our own risk taking. But no matter the number of broken legs, smashed all back. All we can do is take the greatest of care and approach any and all actions with our eyes wide open with the ready understanding that no matter how prepared we are, how careful we might be - risk means the outcome is not always assured, but it is always part of the pleasure.