A cautionary tale for newbies

I am glad that you were all safe. It also takes courage to share events where mistakes were made and others are likely to be critical. So, thanks for sharing.

I have been involved in risky activities in the mountains and on the water for 30 years. I have been involved in incidents where I made mistakes. I’ve read about risk in all my activities and now understand that incidents occur because of a multitude of factors that stack up, one by one. Each on its own is likely not serious. It’s never just one thing.

However, as you pointed out, the risks increased because of the combination of inexperience, late start, inappropriate equipment, weather, previous injury, tiredness and perhaps lack of sleep or food/water. I’ve been there and gotten away with it. I’m glad you did too.

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