To an extent, I am very uncomfortable with heights, but not quite terrified! I have some difficulty climbing onto the roof of my house (which is about 12'+ high) via a step ladder!
But the unpleasantness can be considerably mitigated if there is some form of secure support which eliminates (or at least considerably minimizes) the possibility of a fall!
No way would I climb long vertical or near vertical ladders, for example, unless I had safety gear such as a harness, rope etc!
Cycling along a narrow ledge like that is extremely dangerous, I couldn't do it! And definitely not hanging off a beam with ONE hand!! I don't have the strength for a start, and it is extremely dangerous anyway.
Climbing up hills etc is not much of an issue, provided I have safety gear.
If it’s a protected situation, like a rail or tether, no. But if it’s unprotected? Like, you’re at the edge of a precipice above a very long drop that would surely kill you… I get knots in my stomach and an adrenaline rush of fear. When I was in college, a buddy of mine once explored the campus center building and found an accessway was open. We went to the roof. It had NO guardrails. Just a lip of a few inches. You could lay down and hang your head over the side, looking down 20 stories. I absolutely could not get up on the edge—had to slink back a few feet before standing up.
I can watch Alex Honnold doing his free climbing in areas where he has NO protection, but as he makes his way over a seemingly impossible traverse… like barely 1” hand grips where he’s hanging on by his fingers, or climbing underneath an overhang that he then proceeds to climb over? I can’t watch. This guy has no fear of falling. But, while his instincts are so very good to keep him from death, there are unforeseen circumstances… plus, his own biology. He could at any moment get a cramp. And if that happens? He’s toast.
At first no … not until after I went to the Six Flags at the Stone Mountain National Park in Georgia many, many years ago. My friends convinced me to join them on one thrill ride: The Scream Machine.
And yes, I realized that I was quite scared, extremely uncomfortable with the height during the ride.
So I just refused to go on the second one, the Mind Bender. It looked too intimidating, going at a high speed into two or three loopes hanging upside down high up there.
I used to be pretty bad but got a job hanging x-mas lights and got over it pretty fast. That said I aint pushing my luck hanging off a beam with one hand like that. Not doing something because you are afraid and doing something because you are stupid are two completely different things.
Not terrified - I have a long history of enjoying hiking on cliff ledges, taking soaring lessons, etc. But my brain certainly reacts very strongly when I put myself in those positions - I can feel my brain very strongly telling me “this is not a good place to be.” And I don’t mind that, as that tells me my brain is functioning as it should. However, I have been able and willing to push past that, with reasonable safety precautions, and enjoy the views from the edge or on high.
Like that little Chinese fella who would hang off skyscrapers for the video lulz, to get bux to pay for his sick mum’s meds or something.
Was hanging from his fingertips, no spotter or any backup, lost his grip and went splat. Not 1000 floors below or anything, just a landing a few floors below, but enough to get all busted up good inside. He dead.
I imagine that was better’n going for the duration, ie, falling a full minute or so, knowing every second on the way down before you go splat that you’re gonna pop like a water-balloon once you hit the pavement. Ecch.
If I feel confident in my gear or situation no. However, it’s frequent that I am not and have that “fight or flight” feeling. For example, on a second floor roof that is steep and I don’t have good footing and have to work near the edge, or even walking out on that clear observation box in the Sear’s tower (or whatever it is called now that it was bought out).
I’m curious… do people that are afraid of heights get nervous on airplane flights?
I remember an ep of the “CSI” with Sinise, how they went out on the tippytop of the ESB through this little hatch, where they had to hook a “leash” to a railing that went completely around. Like nothing below until you’d hit the observation deck.
I could just imagine someone chaining the hatch shut once you’re out there. How tf would you you be able to get back in??
Six Flags over Georgia is nearly 40 miles from Stone Mountain park, but, it’s been a many, many years, right ?
I grew up close enough to Six Flags, that as a teenager we got season passes. I can remember going on days where there were no lines, and just walking off the Scream Machine or the Mind Bender, and getting right back on. Sometimes 10 rides in a row. So, no, that kind of height is not terrifying to me, it’s just fun.
I’ve always wanted to skydive at least once, but my wife doesn’t think that sounds like fun, so I might never get around to it.
