Althouse: High anxiety.

September 10, 2019

High anxiety.

Via Reddit.

49 comments:

iowan2 said...: Idiocy on stilts; 9/10/19, 5:49 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: similar to Faroe Island dude?

is this a 'cafe' ?; 9/10/19, 5:50 PM
bagoh20 said...: Why?

I get hang gliding becuase you are actually flying. I get skiing because you are speeding along smooth as silk, but this is just running with scissors... pointed at your eye.; 9/10/19, 5:51 PM
bagoh20 said...: The chances of getting badly hurt doing that are pretty high, higher than most risky sports, but the thrill is just in the danger alone, otherwise you are just jogging. That doesn't work for me.; 9/10/19, 5:54 PM
madAsHell said...: Now, do it again with winged suits!; 9/10/19, 5:55 PM
John Tucker said...: Like Warren Miller said, point a camera at someone and his IQ drops 50%.; 9/10/19, 5:55 PM
Fernandinande said...: Multi-building city parkour

Yikes!; 9/10/19, 5:59 PM
Ken B said...: Shorts. Talk about normalizing degeneracy!; 9/10/19, 6:02 PM
traditionalguy said...: Big deal. No one is shooting at them while they enjoy showing off.; 9/10/19, 6:03 PM
Sarthurk said...: That's no doubt filmed with a GoPro cam with an extremely wide angle lens. It makes the ridge appear a lot steeper than it actually is.

Yeah, I know, I'm a killjoy. Sue me. Oh wait, my is named Sue, never mind.

SK; 9/10/19, 6:04 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: I looked at this blog just as I was putting my shoes on to go walk in a park with my two-year-old grandson.

It's just as exciting to catch him from running out into traffic.; 9/10/19, 6:07 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I'm putting up a "real" cafe soon.; 9/10/19, 6:08 PM
Paul said...: Here is a hint.. the GoPro guy was running just as fast... it isn't that steep a hill.; 9/10/19, 6:08 PM
madAsHell said...: I took Mom out to the retina doctor this morning. She was listening to Fox News when I arrived. As we were driving to the doctors office, she said "Trump fired that guy.....you know, the one with the wooden mustache!"

"John Bolton?"

"Yes, that's the one!!"; 9/10/19, 6:08 PM
Eric said...: When hiking with a guide in Glacier National Park and wondering at the mountain goats, someone asked the guide "do they ever fall?" The guide answered, "how do you think they die?; 9/10/19, 6:10 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: I'd like to watch a video where a geologist explains how that landscape was formed.; 9/10/19, 6:12 PM
Michael K said...: We saw "High Solo" last year. Crazy people. I've sailed across oceans but not that.; 9/10/19, 6:26 PM
Mary Beth said...: It's at least as wide as his shoulders in most places, sometimes wider, and not nearly as narrow as a balance beam. Also, without something else moving, I can't tell if the speed that it appears to be is the actual speed they were running.

It's interesting to watch, but not anxiety-inducing for me. (Not that I'd want to do it.); 9/10/19, 6:49 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: As Sarthurk said, wide-angle lens makes it look worse than it is.

Last Thursday my wife and I hiked Katahdin. We skipped Knife Edge this time, but will probably try it next time. It is a bit wider, but a much rougher trail, and much more serious cliffs.; 9/10/19, 6:58 PM
gilbar said...: when i was young, i used to bound down stairs as fast as i could;
I'd see oldsters (people in their, like 40's) creeping down the stairs, one step at a time, holding on for dear life to the railing. I used to look down on them so much!
They were stupid, old people that weren't Nearly as spry as i was. . .

After a while, i realized that they were people that had FALLEN a LOT more times than me.
I'd bet that these runners haven't fallen much. Once you fall a few dozen times, you stop thinking "Can i do this?", and start thinking "what happens if i screw up?"; 9/10/19, 7:06 PM
AltStruck said...: I've been reading this blog for years, but never previously commented. You've finally pressed my buttons I guess. By posting this, I think you are encouraging idiots everywhere to commit suicidal acts. While I'm disappointed in you, I can't exactly say you are doing a public disservice. The species may be better off without those who cannot resist the selfie. I'm also not entirely sure that your recent affection for Reddit is improving your blog!; 9/10/19, 7:12 PM
Ralph L said...: The TV channel TBD shows lots of videos like this, in addition to FailArmy, which is mostly young men doing stupid things like this and racking themselves or landing on their faces. They also have some darned impressive feats.; 9/10/19, 7:19 PM
mockturtle said...: Ridge running. It's really not as dangerous as it looks.; 9/10/19, 7:28 PM
Peglegged Picador said...: Those of you saying 'it's not that steep' are ding dongs. I get the point you're trying to make about what a wide angle lens can do, but it's just about straight down on the right hand side.; 9/10/19, 7:33 PM
mockturtle said...: Let's put it this way: If you were running a narrow trail on flat land, would you be apt to run off the trail?; 9/10/19, 7:38 PM
MadisonMan said...: Let's celebrate causing erosion.; 9/10/19, 7:38 PM
mccullough said...: Man in Shorts on a Ridge Run; 9/10/19, 7:48 PM
rcocean said...: Mock, said exactly what i was going to say. Not only is the trail fairly wide, but the slope isn't steep enough. You'll roll or slide rather than Fall. I'm not saying you wouldn't break something, but I doubt you would die. They are running on cliff edges.

But scary enough for someone like me, who's afraid of heights. I don't even like walking on the High Dive Board.; 9/10/19, 7:49 PM
richlb said...: I've seen this run on a mountain bike, which is much more terrifying in my opinion.; 9/10/19, 8:10 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: “But scary enough for someone like me, who's afraid of heights. I don't even like walking on the High Dive Board.”

I have always had acrophobia, but it seems to have gotten far worse after my youngest brother died rock climbing his senior year at Dartmouth. My ex noticed it when we were hiking in Glacier. There were some rock trails a couple feet across. She noticed that I would slow up almost to a crawl when one side or the other would drop off, then speed up afterwards. Funny thing is that I don’t do that when I am in a car either driving, or riding with some whose driving in the mountains I trust.

And so, my acrophobia kicked in when I was watching that video. In particular, I notice it first as a tweak in a place that the guys here would likely understand.; 9/10/19, 8:30 PM
mockturtle said...: I notice it first as a tweak in a place that the guys here would likely understand.

Bruce, it might interest you to know that females who suffer from acrophobia [as I used to] get that 'tweak' in approximately the same place. ;-); 9/10/19, 8:52 PM
traditionalguy said...: In a mountainous area the Ridge becomes the trail and path and road. Because it is more level and requires no creek/river crossings. The first American Railroad builders; 9/10/19, 8:54 PM
Joe Biden, America's Putin said...: Yikes. I love to hike, but I do not like to run. Running on a knife edge- yikes. Reason I won't do Capitol Peak.
I've always wanted to learn how to Para-glide.; 9/10/19, 9:33 PM
n.n said...: Man in shorts. The terror. Don't walk, run.; 9/10/19, 9:33 PM
alanc709 said...: "Bruce Hayden said...
“But scary enough for someone like me, who's afraid of heights. I don't even like walking on the High Dive Board.”

I have always had acrophobia, but it seems to have gotten far worse after my youngest brother died rock climbing his senior year at Dartmouth. My ex noticed it when we were hiking in Glacier. There were some rock trails a couple feet across. She noticed that I would slow up almost to a crawl when one side or the other would drop off, then speed up afterwards. Funny thing is that I don’t do that when I am in a car either driving, or riding with some whose driving in the mountains I trust.

And so, my acrophobia kicked in when I was watching that video. In particular, I notice it first as a tweak in a place that the guys here would likely understand."

I used to have the same reaction playing SWTOR, the graphics of some locations were realistic enough that my acrophobia would kick in while seated in my chair.; 9/10/19, 9:55 PM
L Day said...: Sarthurk is right and he's not a ding dong. The wide angle lens makes the ridge look a lot steeper than it really is. Notice the trees on the left that lean way left rather than stand vertically. I've seen a video very similar to this of a guy riding his dirt bike across the crest of a snow covered ridge. It looks even scarier, but they employ the same trick. Sorry.; 9/10/19, 11:08 PM
gspencer said...: Properly called a razor's edge.; 9/10/19, 11:17 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Others beat me to it- the steepness of the slopes is exaggerated quite a bit by the camera, and the paths he is running are pretty damned wide, in most of the video, wider than a tyical sidewalk. The parkour video linked above is quite a bit more amazing. Of course, the parkan't videos get taken down by Reddit, and believe me, there are plenty of those.; 9/10/19, 11:30 PM
Lou M said...: Male toxicity...; 9/11/19, 2:46 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I've been reading this blog for years, but never previously commented. You've finally pressed my buttons I guess. By posting this, I think you are encouraging idiots everywhere to commit suicidal acts. While I'm disappointed in you, I can't exactly say you are doing a public disservice. The species may be better off without those who cannot resist the selfie. I'm also not entirely sure that your recent affection for Reddit is improving your blog!"

Thanks for the input. I have to admit I didn't think that I was encouraging the behavior. When I watch it, I think, I don't even want to see it and I certainly wouldn't consider doing it. Imagine if the drop were only on one side: I still would not *walk* the path, even slowly, not unless I had no other path (including going back). I often link to things I disapprove of, so if I have to think every link is an encouragement... well, I'm not sure how I would blog. My links are not necessarily "link love," and I'd probably end this project if I thought they had to be.; 9/11/19, 5:10 AM
jeremyabrams said...: My daredevil 13-year-old son is sitting right next to me on the sofa, and thank God he didn't see this. This is of a piece with voluntarily not publishing the names of mass shooters. In a more advanced society, media outlets (yes, including this one) would refrain.; 9/11/19, 5:35 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Definitely democrat and important part of the insurance pool. Hope his agent sees it.; 9/11/19, 5:53 AM
Mr. Majestyk said...: I bet neither of those guys has kids.; 9/11/19, 6:18 AM
Jeffery Rogers said...: The video is of Killian Jornet, the world's most talented and accomplished ultrarunner. Big deal, he ran down a trail. You should search his name and watch him ski down a mountain, or glissade down a slope.

People need to get outside more. And stop believing your eyes when a fancy lens is being used.; 9/11/19, 6:19 AM
CStanley said...: I wouldn’t want to do it myself but I thought it was very cool to watch. They should loop longer versions of it for a live action “Temple Run” game.; 9/11/19, 7:52 AM
daskol said...: He's running away from monkeys trying to eat his face.; 9/11/19, 8:30 AM
Maillard Reactionary said...: Future Darwin Award nominees.; 9/11/19, 8:58 AM
mockturtle said...: Devere reports: My daredevil 13-year-old son is sitting right next to me on the sofa, and thank God he didn't see this. This is of a piece with voluntarily not publishing the names of mass shooters. In a more advanced society, media outlets (yes, including this one) would refrain.

By all means we must keep our children safe from physical harm but let's expose them to all manner of mentally and spiritually damaging material on a daily basis.; 9/11/19, 10:53 AM
rsbsail said...: Here is another sweaty palms video of a bike ride down the streets of Valparaiso, Chile! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC5u9EWLiB4; 9/11/19, 6:56 PM