Kilian Bron and Danny MacAskill are professionals but increase the stakes with their ability to drive technical, exposed lines.
You may have noticed a massive surge in outdoor sports activities recently as new enthusiasts flocked to beaches and trailheads in search of healthy fresh air. Access has never been easier. However, although advances in technology offer improved safety equipment, the underlying risks still remain. For my part, I am happy to see new people exploring the forests looking for that epic view or the adrenaline rush, but all the zeal with less awareness is draining our search and rescue resources. That got me thinking, where do all the “extreme sports” stand in terms of risk?
On a recent trip I asked a friend why he wasn’t surfing as the area is very productive for the sport. His one-word answer was enough: “Sharks!” – dinosaurs roaming the ocean with daggers between their pines. An attack can happen to anyone at any time in waters known to be prey, regardless of your athleticism or level of awareness. There is no way to protect yourself from sharks other than by staying out of their waters.
This discussion moved on to the fact that mountain biking is much safer than other outdoor sports where the environment is less controlled; no risk of being hit by a car, drowning, avalanches and definitely no sharks. Yes, wildlife can be present on land in remote areas as well, but encounters can be mitigated by announcing your presence. Getting buzzed on a highway is out of your control. All of these potentially fatal endings seem more extreme than riding a bike through the woods.
As you delve further into the dangerous activities, the inherent risk of drowning in any water activity is real, whether you bump your head on a reef or get caught under a rapids while kayaking. Similar to avalanches on snow-capped mountains, there is little warning and only luck pulls some out of these dire circumstances. These “no way out” scenarios always gave me goosebumps. Snowmobiling, skiing and snowboarding, within or outside of the borders, pose further dangers for snow sports with hypothermia and tree fountains. Preparation and discipline help avoid these predicaments, but most rides mountain biking doesn’t have these risks.
Then how about a safety net – let’s say a rope when climbing? Sure, it’s a seemingly safe lifeline, but devices can fail. However, falling from short distances can be dangerous if devices fail or communication with a partner is lost. I’m not saying that mountain biking isn’t dangerous or that a bicycle component failure has never resulted in serious injury, but the severity of falls is generally less than falling from this height.
We could try to take off from jumps and ski down slabs of rock that some would need rope for, but it’s filth we want it to be. In general, mountain bikers ride on established roads or trails, which is not unlike off-road motorcycles. However, speed is the culprit when motors come into play and the stakes are higher. To put this from a mountain biker’s point of view, I would say that there are more serious injuries in downhill than in enduro racing. Still, there are no mudslides to trigger (at least not because you’re riding your bike down a slope), although I wish that dirt would sometimes fall from the sky.
After our discussion during the ride, where we soaked up all the elements around us, mountain biking seemed to be one of the most controlled outdoor sports. Most of the time, we purposefully build what we want to drive. When we brought a well-built jump line into the session, I was satisfied; Well balanced on the risk-reward scale. Most veterans in their respective sports take risks seriously and do their best to negotiate self-harm. So where do you see the mountain bike rankings in danger of outdoor sports?
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