TE Gavin Escobar - died in a rock-climbing accident 9.29.2022 (1 Viewer)

[BladeRunner]

Why are we rock climbing again? Especially when you have a family?

It's a terrible situation but one that seemed kind of avoidable.

I think rock climbing - like a lot of things - is something you cannot comprehend if you're not driven to do it. I live in Utah and see people doing things (more dangerous/risky than rock climbing) all the time that I cannot wrap my brain around. Bridal Veil Falls freezes over every winter and people flock there for ice climbing. "Why would anyone climb something that is going to come crashing to the Earth at some point?" is what I ask myself while I watch them as I am fly fishing in the Provo River below. After a while you just stop questioning it and realize that people are wired differently.

Then there's the school of thought along the lines of "When your number is up... " ... Michael Schumacher survives a life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, then nearly loses his life on a ski vacation with his family. I drive to work every day on the highway, even though thousands lose their lives every year in car accidents on the highway.

Guess I'm simply saying that you don't have to have risky hobbies in order to die. Lightning strikes do occur.

Yeah, for sure. I get it.

But, IMO, there is a difference between doing something you HAVE to do (like driving to work, getting paid to drive cars) and doing something you want to do as a hobby. One you can deliberately avoid, the other not so much.

But I also understand that drive some people have to take risks - it's almost like a drug sometimes. Always challenging yourself, never settling. Just seems that if you have a family you should probably put yourself in less risky situations if you can. Now you've left a wife behind with no husband, kids with no father and possibly the main breadwinner in the family.

 

[Manster]

Why are we rock climbing again? Especially when you have a family?

It's a terrible situation but one that seemed kind of avoidable.

I think rock climbing - like a lot of things - is something you cannot comprehend if you're not driven to do it. I live in Utah and see people doing things (more dangerous/risky than rock climbing) all the time that I cannot wrap my brain around. Bridal Veil Falls freezes over every winter and people flock there for ice climbing. "Why would anyone climb something that is going to come crashing to the Earth at some point?" is what I ask myself while I watch them as I am fly fishing in the Provo River below. After a while you just stop questioning it and realize that people are wired differently.

Then there's the school of thought along the lines of "When your number is up... " ... Michael Schumacher survives a life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, then nearly loses his life on a ski vacation with his family. I drive to work every day on the highway, even though thousands lose their lives every year in car accidents on the highway.

Guess I'm simply saying that you don't have to have risky hobbies in order to die. Lightning strikes do occur.

Ha! I'm fly fishing the Deschutes next week and there happens to be a big columnar basalt formation that is a popular rock climbing spot above the river where I fish. I think the same thing as you......I'm down on the river catching beautiful trout, with a cold beer......why would I want to risk life and limb up there?? Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things.

Been wanting to get out to Utah to fish. My bro is in Wyoming and I'm planning on cast and blast pronghorn/ Green river trip over the next couple years.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Then there's the school of thought along the lines of "When your number is up... " ... Michael Schumacher survives a life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, then nearly loses his life on a ski vacation with his family. I drive to work every day on the highway, even though thousands lose their lives every year in car accidents on the highway.

Guess I'm simply saying that you don't have to have risky hobbies in order to die. Lightning strikes do occur.

Sure, but there are activities that are inherently more life-threatening than others.

Statistically speaking, sure - people do die in car crashes every day. But out of the number of cars on the road, the odds of you dying in a car crash are substantially lower than an ice climber or rock climber falling to their death.

It’s an argument chock full of fallacy. Dismissing the inherent risk of a dangerous hobby with kismet or fate seems to short sell the actual risk of such activities.

Also, RIP Gavin Escobar. :(

 

[Dizzy]

Why are we rock climbing again? Especially when you have a family?

It's a terrible situation but one that seemed kind of avoidable.

I think rock climbing - like a lot of things - is something you cannot comprehend if you're not driven to do it. I live in Utah and see people doing things (more dangerous/risky than rock climbing) all the time that I cannot wrap my brain around. Bridal Veil Falls freezes over every winter and people flock there for ice climbing. "Why would anyone climb something that is going to come crashing to the Earth at some point?" is what I ask myself while I watch them as I am fly fishing in the Provo River below. After a while you just stop questioning it and realize that people are wired differently.

Then there's the school of thought along the lines of "When your number is up... " ... Michael Schumacher survives a life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, then nearly loses his life on a ski vacation with his family. I drive to work every day on the highway, even though thousands lose their lives every year in car accidents on the highway.

Guess I'm simply saying that you don't have to have risky hobbies in order to die. Lightning strikes do occur.

Ha! I'm fly fishing the Deschutes next week and there happens to be a big columnar basalt formation that is a popular rock climbing spot above the river where I fish. I think the same thing as you......I'm down on the river catching beautiful trout, with a cold beer......why would I want to risk life and limb up there?? Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things.

Been wanting to get out to Utah to fish. My bro is in Wyoming and I'm planning on cast and blast pronghorn/ Green river trip over the next couple years.

Oh nice, great time of year to be on the river.

Just got back from 5 days in Gunnison, CO. Fishing was great numbers wise, but average size was down this year. Water levels scary low as well.

 

[Dizzy]

Why are we rock climbing again? Especially when you have a family?

It's a terrible situation but one that seemed kind of avoidable.

I think rock climbing - like a lot of things - is something you cannot comprehend if you're not driven to do it. I live in Utah and see people doing things (more dangerous/risky than rock climbing) all the time that I cannot wrap my brain around. Bridal Veil Falls freezes over every winter and people flock there for ice climbing. "Why would anyone climb something that is going to come crashing to the Earth at some point?" is what I ask myself while I watch them as I am fly fishing in the Provo River below. After a while you just stop questioning it and realize that people are wired differently.

Then there's the school of thought along the lines of "When your number is up... " ... Michael Schumacher survives a life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, then nearly loses his life on a ski vacation with his family. I drive to work every day on the highway, even though thousands lose their lives every year in car accidents on the highway.

Guess I'm simply saying that you don't have to have risky hobbies in order to die. Lightning strikes do occur.

Yeah, for sure. I get it.

But, IMO, there is a difference between doing something you HAVE to do (like driving to work, getting paid to drive cars) and doing something you want to do as a hobby. One you can deliberately avoid, the other not so much.

But I also understand that drive some people have to take risks - it's almost like a drug sometimes. Always challenging yourself, never settling. Just seems that if you have a family you should probably put yourself in less risky situations if you can. Now you've left a wife behind with no husband, kids with no father and possibly the main breadwinner in the family.

I mean, the dude was a firefighter... so he had already crossed over, or made peace with the "what I do could make my wife a widow and leave my children fatherless" conundrum. I'm sure rock climbing was just another day at the office for him.

 

[BladeRunner]

Why are we rock climbing again? Especially when you have a family?

It's a terrible situation but one that seemed kind of avoidable.

I think rock climbing - like a lot of things - is something you cannot comprehend if you're not driven to do it. I live in Utah and see people doing things (more dangerous/risky than rock climbing) all the time that I cannot wrap my brain around. Bridal Veil Falls freezes over every winter and people flock there for ice climbing. "Why would anyone climb something that is going to come crashing to the Earth at some point?" is what I ask myself while I watch them as I am fly fishing in the Provo River below. After a while you just stop questioning it and realize that people are wired differently.

Then there's the school of thought along the lines of "When your number is up... " ... Michael Schumacher survives a life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, then nearly loses his life on a ski vacation with his family. I drive to work every day on the highway, even though thousands lose their lives every year in car accidents on the highway.

Guess I'm simply saying that you don't have to have risky hobbies in order to die. Lightning strikes do occur.

Yeah, for sure. I get it.

But, IMO, there is a difference between doing something you HAVE to do (like driving to work, getting paid to drive cars) and doing something you want to do as a hobby. One you can deliberately avoid, the other not so much.

But I also understand that drive some people have to take risks - it's almost like a drug sometimes. Always challenging yourself, never settling. Just seems that if you have a family you should probably put yourself in less risky situations if you can. Now you've left a wife behind with no husband, kids with no father and possibly the main breadwinner in the family.

I mean, the dude was a firefighter... so he had already crossed over, or made peace with the "what I do could make my wife a widow and leave my children fatherless" conundrum. I'm sure rock climbing was just another day at the office for him.

I don't think it's that easy to dismiss. One is an occupation where it's your job, one is a hobby that is unnecessary.

 

[Dizzy]

Then there's the school of thought along the lines of "When your number is up... " ... Michael Schumacher survives a life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, then nearly loses his life on a ski vacation with his family. I drive to work every day on the highway, even though thousands lose their lives every year in car accidents on the highway.

Guess I'm simply saying that you don't have to have risky hobbies in order to die. Lightning strikes do occur.

Sure, but there are activities that are inherently more life-threatening than others.

Statistically speaking, sure - people do die in car crashes every day. But out of the number of cars on the road, the odds of you dying in a car crash are substantially lower than an ice climber or rock climber falling to their death.

It’s an argument chock full of fallacy. Dismissing the inherent risk of a dangerous hobby with kismet or fate seems to short sell the actual risk of such activities.

Also, RIP Gavin Escobar. :(

I agree with most of what you say, but we just can't expect people to view risks - or perceived risks - equally. Some things are simply more dangerous that others... and some people have a higher regard for their own safety than others.

Statistically yes, falling a cliff is more likely than dieing on the drive there for people that engage in both. Statistically though, many leading causes of death are directly related to our lifestyle with respect to diet and exercise. Eating fast food, sucking down beer and soft drinks, and sitting on the couch watching 20 hours of football is statistically 12,000 times more likely to kill us... but people still do it.

 

[Dizzy]

Why are we rock climbing again? Especially when you have a family?

It's a terrible situation but one that seemed kind of avoidable.

I think rock climbing - like a lot of things - is something you cannot comprehend if you're not driven to do it. I live in Utah and see people doing things (more dangerous/risky than rock climbing) all the time that I cannot wrap my brain around. Bridal Veil Falls freezes over every winter and people flock there for ice climbing. "Why would anyone climb something that is going to come crashing to the Earth at some point?" is what I ask myself while I watch them as I am fly fishing in the Provo River below. After a while you just stop questioning it and realize that people are wired differently.

Then there's the school of thought along the lines of "When your number is up... " ... Michael Schumacher survives a life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, then nearly loses his life on a ski vacation with his family. I drive to work every day on the highway, even though thousands lose their lives every year in car accidents on the highway.

Guess I'm simply saying that you don't have to have risky hobbies in order to die. Lightning strikes do occur.

Yeah, for sure. I get it.

But, IMO, there is a difference between doing something you HAVE to do (like driving to work, getting paid to drive cars) and doing something you want to do as a hobby. One you can deliberately avoid, the other not so much.

But I also understand that drive some people have to take risks - it's almost like a drug sometimes. Always challenging yourself, never settling. Just seems that if you have a family you should probably put yourself in less risky situations if you can. Now you've left a wife behind with no husband, kids with no father and possibly the main breadwinner in the family.

I mean, the dude was a firefighter... so he had already crossed over, or made peace with the "what I do could make my wife a widow and leave my children fatherless" conundrum. I'm sure rock climbing was just another day at the office for him.

I don't think it's that easy to dismiss. One is an occupation where it's your job, one is a hobby that is unnecessary.

No, I'm sure he didn't end up as a firefighter because it was the only job he could find. He chose it, because he has the same wiring that says, "That building is on fire, get everyone out, I'm going in"

His view on ways to have fun I'm sure were the same, "OK, you guys go bird watching, I'm climbing that rock"

 

[Kevrunner]

A woman climbing with him died also, RIP

CNS) – A pair of climbers who died trying to scale a mountainside east of Idyllwild were identified Thursday as a man and woman from Orange County.

Gavin Escobar, 31, and Chelsea Walsh, 33, both of Huntington Beach, were fatally injured about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday near the Tahquitz Peak Fire Lookout, southeast of Humber Park, within the San Bernardino National Forest, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

 

[BladeRunner]

Why are we rock climbing again? Especially when you have a family?

It's a terrible situation but one that seemed kind of avoidable.

I think rock climbing - like a lot of things - is something you cannot comprehend if you're not driven to do it. I live in Utah and see people doing things (more dangerous/risky than rock climbing) all the time that I cannot wrap my brain around. Bridal Veil Falls freezes over every winter and people flock there for ice climbing. "Why would anyone climb something that is going to come crashing to the Earth at some point?" is what I ask myself while I watch them as I am fly fishing in the Provo River below. After a while you just stop questioning it and realize that people are wired differently.

Then there's the school of thought along the lines of "When your number is up... " ... Michael Schumacher survives a life behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, then nearly loses his life on a ski vacation with his family. I drive to work every day on the highway, even though thousands lose their lives every year in car accidents on the highway.

Guess I'm simply saying that you don't have to have risky hobbies in order to die. Lightning strikes do occur.

Yeah, for sure. I get it.

But, IMO, there is a difference between doing something you HAVE to do (like driving to work, getting paid to drive cars) and doing something you want to do as a hobby. One you can deliberately avoid, the other not so much.

But I also understand that drive some people have to take risks - it's almost like a drug sometimes. Always challenging yourself, never settling. Just seems that if you have a family you should probably put yourself in less risky situations if you can. Now you've left a wife behind with no husband, kids with no father and possibly the main breadwinner in the family.

I mean, the dude was a firefighter... so he had already crossed over, or made peace with the "what I do could make my wife a widow and leave my children fatherless" conundrum. I'm sure rock climbing was just another day at the office for him.

I don't think it's that easy to dismiss. One is an occupation where it's your job, one is a hobby that is unnecessary.

No, I'm sure he didn't end up as a firefighter because it was the only job he could find. He chose it, because he has the same wiring that says, "That building is on fire, get everyone out, I'm going in"

His view on ways to have fun I'm sure were the same, "OK, you guys go bird watching, I'm climbing that rock"

Uhm...yeah, no one is arguing that.

Comparing a profession to a hobby and making it seem like they're both the same is not correct. All I'm saying is priorities should change when you have a family. Taking unneeded and unnecessary risks should be one of them. Whether he was "wired" that way is irrelevant.

 

[oswizzle]

RIP bro…my good friends all went to school with him out here in South Orange County … everyone always had nice things to say about him