From:
Jeffrey Lewin <jclewin**At_Symbol_Here**MTU.EDU>
Subject:
Re: Fwd: [DCHAS-L] [New post] Health and Safety II?
Date:
Aug 7, 2019 01:20 UTC
Reply-To:
ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
In-Reply-To:
Fwd: [DCHAS-L] [New post] Health and Safety II?
Alex Honnold is the current poster child for this. See his accomplishments in "Free Solo"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urRVZ4SW7WU, in his autobiography "Alone on the wall"
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=alone+on+the+wall&gclid=CjwKCAjwyqTqBRAyEiwA8K_4O_0CfoWkFrtWoZUoMW5eTt7is1InaV6pQNpCWBfJtr4skBWJDvSA9RoCnloQAvD_BwE&hvadid=241920398397&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9060222&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8729166667403896597&hvtargid=kwd-4937804726&hydadcr=24658_10400650&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_7345poo3a2_e and prominent presence in Mark Synnott's Book
https://www.amazon.com/Impossible-Climb-Honnold-Capitan-Climbing/dp/1101986646
When Alex is asked if he is being unsafe or taking risks, he answers "no" reasoning he's not going beyond his abilities and working with our a rope "forces" him to make the right decisions. The movie is filled with scenes where he practices the "tough" moves (and falling while on a rope and attached to 'pro" aka protection). Yet he still admits that a wrong mistake - a rock breaking, could be the start of the last 15 seconds of his life. Mark, in his book, takes Alex to task for showing up without a helmet on a climb. When asked if he "forgot it" he replies "yes, sort of." It turns out he doesn't own one.
Ironically, his worst accident is when he is roped up and climbing with his inexperienced girlfriend. The rope was shorter than usual and Alex, the senior climber in charge of safety, failed to tie a jamb knot in the rope and his girlfriend let the rope slip through the belay device.
Sadly, I think we'll eventually see Alex's name along with many names ( and friends) he and Mark mention in their books who pay the ultimate price for pushing the limits - free soloing, base jumping, and slacklining without a net.
Jeff
This blog post describes a safety culture challenge I have encountered in the research lab setting - balancing managing risk with pushing into areas with unknown hazards. It also describes a cultural stress that develops in discussions between emergency responders
and people who work with hazards under controlled circumstances.
- Ralph
At a recent conference I attended, there was a paper describing an attempt to "manage" the risks involved in rock climbing. This highlighted the desire of climbers to push the boundaries to demonstrate mastery over evermore seemingly "unsafe" situations. (Solo
unaided, unsupported climbs reliant only on the courage, skill and wit of the individual climber?). [-]
Read more of this post
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