For the week of April 16 - 22, 2003

Of loss and injury

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It was a rough week in the Wood River Valley.

An experienced paraglider died when something went wrong in the air and left him no time to recover.

A skier was seriously injured when he apparently missed a turn on Lower College, went airborne and landed on a bare rocky slope.

Death and injury remind us that sports are risky. They remind us that life is precious and fragile, and should not be risked unnecessarily.

Yet, sports are not unnecessary risks. They are essential for full and complete lives.

Outdoor sports in particular allow wingless humans to escape the bonds of earth, shed everyday responsibilities and see the world around them in new ways.

Through sports, we humans have very un-human experiences, including flight, weightlessness and speed. We feel the wind in our faces and the sun in our eyes. We experience intensity available in few other pursuits.

Enthusiasts know outdoor sports can be risky. In the mountains, speed, avalanches, high water, cold, rotten rock and unpredictable air currents can all turn deadly under the right circumstances. Yet, most outdoor sports are no more risky than driving a car—an activity most people believe is pretty safe.

For example, the chance of dying in a car wreck is about 1 in 6,000 for those who drive 10,000 miles a year. On the other hand, the chance of dying while skydiving (a different sport than paragliding) is 1 in every 100,000 jumps.

It’s hard to witness death and injury. It’s harder to imagine lives lived without encounters of the outdoor kind.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.