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Help a climber pass his college capstone project

Original Post
Matt Baer · · Keene, NY · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 70

Hey Climbing community,
I am a senior at Paul Smiths College, NY studying Recreation Adventure travel and eco-tourism. For my senior capstone project I decided to look at why climbers take risks and if those risks are related to their experience level. Please help me out and take this short survey and pass it on to your friends.

docs.google.com/spreadsheet…

Thanks again,

Matt Baer

Em Cos · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 5

Matt,
I just finished up my Master's thesis on a very similar topic - feel free to email me if you have any questions. Good luck with your project!
-Emily

a d · · Los Angeles, CA · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 5

I recall seeing a survey on rc.com on a similar subject for someone's thesis. Probably was about 2 years ago. I remember there being a good thread on it - check it out.

a d · · Los Angeles, CA · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 5

Matt - is that really the name of the major? Or is it like a sub-major of business or something? Sounds mighty basket-weavingish to me...

:D

Danny Grim · · Burlington, VT · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 0

Hey Matt!

I just took your survey! also try putting it on the climberism forum to get more responses!

Thanks!

Heres the link!

Ryan Nevius · · Perchtoldsdorf, AT · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 1,837
Danny Grim wrote:try putting it on the climberism forum to get more responses!
Really?
Danny Grim · · Burlington, VT · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 0
Ryan Nevius wrote: Really?
yup!
Rajiv Ayyangar · · San Francisco, CA · Joined Jun 2010 · Points: 220

Your questions around leading and lead falls do not capture a large segment of the population that is climbing hard sport - maybe 5.12-5.14+. You ask how many lead falls the climber takes per year, with the highest option being 10+. Sport climbers who are projecting routes regularly take a dozen lead falls a day. This doesn't mean they are exposed to more risk than the 5.7 sport climber who falls twice a year. In general, harder sport routes are significantly safer to fall on than lower grades.

SM Ryan · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 1,090

Rajiv- good point about falls.
On Saturday I climbed 7 routes (2 projects and 5 warm-ups). Here is my fall count:
Warm-up/down - zero falls.
Project 1- 6 falls.
Project 2 - attempted 2 times and took 8 falls.
I am still working out beta, so fall count is high. But given I climb over 100 days a year falls add up.
Falls and the willingness to take one is totally dependent on terrain not necessarily skill. When on steep climbs I would argue the risk of injury is pretty low; so I take a ton of falls.
However, if I am on a 5.10 slab, 1 fall could be deadly.
If you have been injured, I would want to get more info on this question and understand why someone who was hospitalized would continue to climb?

DannyUncanny · · Vancouver · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 100

I did a factor analysis survey many years ago with a few hundred respondents from climbing clubs around the world. As I recall, the motivations for rock climbing grouped pretty well into 3 underlying factors: risk/achievement/skill, social/competitive, and nature/uniqueness/escape. I believe that risk/achievement/skill was significantly negatively correlated with experience, although it might have been age. I don't have the paper handy any more.

Matt Baer · · Keene, NY · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 70
alexdavis wrote:Matt - is that really the name of the major? Or is it like a sub-major of business or something? Sounds mighty basket-weavingish to me... :D
Yep that is the name of the major!
And thanks for the responses guys I really appreciate the help :)
I'm up to 180 responses so far!
Julius Beres · · Boulder, CO · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 364

I took your survey, but I think it really misses some points about risk.

There is a huge difference between taking a lead fall 5 feet above a bolt, or running it out 30+ feet above a marginal RP.

I know sport climbers who are completely risk averse and wouldn't do anything really dangerous (obviously there are always objective hazards).

Climbing encompasses such a large community. It doesn't make much sense to me to ask whether it is risky or not. It really depends. If you are top roping off bomber anchors with a competent belayer, the risk seems pretty minimal, if you are soloing 5.13 routes 1000 feet off the deck, it seems like you might have a death wish... there are a lot of shades of grey in between.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
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