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Snowmobiler Caleb Moore dies after accident at Winter X-Games

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No, it doesn't make sense. Not only are there places on earth still left to explore, but that doesn't excuse a person to think that flipping a snowmobile over their heads is a good idea.

Guy who does "tricks" with snowmobiles dies. No shit.

Guy who crosses ocean in boats dies.

Guy who climbs Mount Everest dies.

Guy who flies in plane dies.


Thank god everyone did not share your views. We'd still be in the same damn cave we started out in. Living our lives in the same way we always had.

Thank you to guys like this kid who teach people how to live.
 
Guy who crosses ocean in boats dies.

Guy who climbs Mount Everest dies.

Guy who flies in plane dies.


Thank god everyone did not share your views. We'd still be in the same damn cave we started out in. Living our lives in the same way we always had.

Thank you to guys like this kid who teach people how to live.

I'm sorry, but this is just terribly illogical. You can't compare doing "tricks" on a snowmobile to people flying in planes, crossing the ocean, or crossing the country in wagons for the first time. In the acts (except for Everest) you cite in your last 2 posts, they all either accomplished something useful to the people performing them, as well as society as a whole, or had the potential to accomplish something useful. What use is there in flipping a 500+ pound machine around in the air?! None. It is what it is... stupidity.

I'd also like to qualify the above statement by saying that I don't mean to bash the kid who died for doing what he loved/wanted... He had every right to do what he wanted and I do feel bad for his family for having to go through this... but that doesn't mean that I can't say that its stupid to be doing flips, spins, and "tricks" high up in the air in a heavy machine like that. Your examples are just terrible.

In summary, I'm not saying it is stupid to ever push the limits, take risks, or do things others think you cannot... I'm saying its stupid to do these things with no clear useful or profound outcome that you hope to attain. Sorry, but risking your life to say "ohhh brahhh, I just did the most killlller 360 flip with a kick outttttt" is just plain idiotic.
 
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I'm sorry, but this is just terribly illogical. You can't compare doing "tricks" on a snowmobile to people flying in planes, crossing the ocean, or crossing the country in wagons for the first time. In the acts (except for Everest) you cite in your last 2 posts, they all either accomplished something useful to the people performing them, as well as society as a whole, or had the potential to accomplish something useful. What use is there in flipping a 500+ pound machine around in the air?! None. It is what it is... stupidity.

I'd also like to qualify the above statement by saying that I don't mean to bash the kid who died for doing what he loved/wanted... He had every right to do what he wanted and I do feel bad for his family for having to go through this... but that doesn't mean that I can't say that its stupid to be doing flips, spins, and "tricks" high up in the air in a heavy machine like that. Your examples are just terrible.

In summary, I'm not saying it is stupid to ever push the limits, take risks, or do things others think you cannot... I'm saying its stupid to do these things with no clear useful or profound outcome that you hope to attain. Sorry, but risking your life to say "ohhh brahhh, I just did the most killlller 360 flip with a kick outttttt" is just plain idiotic.

Clearly you've done jack shit in the thrill department in your life. There is no feeling in the world like pulling a new trick. Nothing.

I think you missed that people did not do many of these things to advance human culture. They did them to do something that was never done before. I'm just surprised at the wussification of this country. We used to cross the Rocky Mountains, get our face ripped off by a bear, drink some whiskey while it was sewn back on and continue on our way. Not to advance human culture, to sell exotic furs back in New York for a profit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedediah_Smith

It's people with these desires to do stupid things who in the past did stupid things like surpassing the speed of sound, getting in a tin can and being shot into space, and recently skydiving from 120,000 feet.

Whether or not you see an accomplishment, this kid did things no other human ever had before him. Show him some respect.

Just realize in every new human accomplishment there is always a ton of crabby old farts who don't understand the need to do that. Thank god youth prevails. Thank god death cleanses us when we become complacent in life.
 
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I've worked with and around snowboarding and pro snowboarders for most of my life. This stuff always shakes people up when it happens, but honestly, dudes don't even really think about it on a day to day basis. These guys are so good that it just feels second nature, although most are pretty conscious of their limits, and don't just do something crazy and out of their league on a whim. Now, I can't speak for this Caleb dude cause snowmobilers are a whole different breed, but the trick he was doing was one that I'm sure he had done 100x before and one that he worked himself up to learning other things.

Two things I can say though... First, the whole "extreme" vibe doesn't exist with real snowboarders. Most will laugh at you if you even say the word cause its kind of a douchebaggy notion. It's just what they love to do, and some of them are really good at it. They're not out there to "push the limits of the human body, man." That's what guys in Mountain Dew commercials do.

Second, one area where nearly all these guys are extremely cautious about safety is around avalanches. You just don't mess around there. I lost a good friend in an avalanche last year and its pretty devastating when it happens.

But as far as serious accidents in contests like these, they are really rare. I actually feel like I see more injuries in the NBA than I ever have around snowboarders. Lotta bumps and bruises, but the serious or fatal injury is rare, at least in my experience, but when it does its really scary. I didn't know him personally, but a bunch of guys I know were close with that guy Kevin Pearce who suffered a serious brain injury during Olympic half pipe qualification circuit. He pulled through, but it was scary.

Also side note... Most pro snowboarders think the x games are stupid, just like most contests. Half pipe guys love em, but its kind of a thing you just do to put some cash in your pocket for most people, and then you go travel to ride for real.
 
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Guy who crosses ocean in boats dies.

Guy who climbs Mount Everest dies.

Guy who flies in plane dies.


Thank god everyone did not share your views. We'd still be in the same damn cave we started out in. Living our lives in the same way we always had.

Thank you to guys like this kid who teach people how to live.
The pursuit of progress and glorious achievement is not the same as doing a backflip on a snowmobile. What a pointless stupid excercise, not deserving any comparison with the wright brothers or sir edmund hillary. You deminish their legacy by drawing such a comparison. Shame on you.
 
I've worked with and around snowboarding and pro snowboarders for most of my life. This stuff always shakes people up when it happens, but honestly, dudes don't even really think about it on a day to day basis. These guys are so good that it just feels second nature, although most are pretty conscious of their limits, and don't just do something crazy and out of their league on a whim. Now, I can't speak for this Caleb dude cause snowmobilers are a whole different breed, but the trick he was doing was one that I'm sure he had done 100x before and one that he worked himself up to learning other things.

Two things I can say though... First, the whole "extreme" vibe doesn't exist with real snowboarders. Most will laugh at you if you even say the word cause its kind of a douchebaggy notion. It's just what they love to do, and some of them are really good at it. They're not out there to "push the limits of the human body, man." That's what guys in Mountain Dew commercials do.

Second, one area where nearly all these guys are extremely cautious about safety is around avalanches. You just don't mess around there. I lost a good friend in an avalanche last year and its pretty devastating when it happens.

But as far as serious accidents in contests like these, they are really rare. I actually feel like I see more injuries in the NBA than I ever have around snowboarders. Lotta bumps and bruises, but the serious or fatal injury is rare, at least in my experience, but when it does its really scary. I didn't know him personally, but a bunch of guys I know were close with that guy Kevin Pearce who suffered a serious brain injury during Olympic half pipe qualification circuit. He pulled through, but it was scary.

Also side note... Most pro snowboarders think the x games are stupid, just like most contests. Half pipe guys love em, but its kind of a thing you just do to put some cash in your pocket for most people, and then you go travel to ride for real.

I used to film BMX. Maybe 2% of all "athletes" in the X games enjoy being there. It's a way to make cash. Just like most endeavors in life.
 
The pursuit of progress and glorious achievement is not the same as doing a backflip on a snowmobile. What a pointless stupid excercise, not deserving any comparison with the wright brothers or sir edmund hillary. You deminish their legacy by drawing such a comparison. Shame on you.


It's the same thing. How you fail to see this is beyond me. Flipping a machine upside down is not a pursuit of glorious achievement? You make it sound like its easy. Most people that do things like the Wright brothers did it for the same feeling. To do something never done before and in some cases also to make some money. Obviously this kid has done the trick before but at one point he had to push himself to do it for the first time.

Not everyone who tried to fly was successful. In fact I'll bet thousands died before the Wrights succeeded. I'm sure there were millions of people like you saying why do they need to try that, a horse is just fine for travel. What a bunch of idiots think they can fly like birds. What sense does that make.
 
Congratulations on your troll. Its not often that I'm dragged in so easily. I sincerely hope you did this on purpose.

Clearly you've done jack shit in the thrill department in your life. There is no feeling in the world like pulling a new trick. Nothing.

Ridiculous. Are you inferring that you need to perform an act that risks your life without a somewhat predictable, justified reason for doing so in order to avoid complacency in one's life? If so, I'll have to disagree wholeheartedly. "Pulling a new trick" for the sake of pulling a trick isn't thrilling... its illogical. If the risk doesn't justify the predicted outcome (or possibility/probability of said outcome), then why take the risk in the first place? If I were to generalize people with little knowledge of them, as you've done with me, I'd tend to think that people with this line of thinking are trying to prove something to themselves. I've never felt the need. Now, before you vilify me for this statement, I'm not saying that pushing yourself to your limits to prove something to yourself is necessarily a bad thing (i.e. competing in a triathalon). However, doing so while risking your life just doesn't seem logical to me unless the ends justify the possibility of death.


I think you missed that people did not do many of these things to advance human culture. They did them to do something that was never done before.

If this is true, then I suppose those whose acts did advance human culture just got lucky. Regardless, doing something just for the sake of doing something that's never been done before is hardly a reason to risk your life. I could stick a funnel up my ass, pour some gasoline in it, and light it on fire. Would you "show me some respect" then? I'd be doing something that's never been done before! However, there would still be no point to doing it.

I'm just surprised at the wussification of this country. We used to cross the Rocky Mountains, get our face ripped off by a bear, drink some whiskey while it was sewn back on and continue on our way. Not to advance human culture, to sell exotic furs back in New York for a profit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedediah_Smith

:chuckles:

It's people with these desires to do stupid things who in the past did stupid things like surpassing the speed of sound, getting in a tin can and being shot into space, and recently skydiving from 120,000 feet.

Again, terrible examples. I would applaud all of these people for their acts. If you can't see how all of these acts justified the risk of one's life because of the possibility of their outcomes, I don't know what to tell you.

Whether or not you see an accomplishment, this kid did things no other human ever had before him. Show him some respect.

I was respectful, in the fact that I acknowledged that Caleb Moore was doing what he loved and had every right to be doing what he was doing. However, respecting someone's choices and agreeing with the choices that they made are two different things. I'll admit, I'm not too keen on the idea of criticizing a stranger's actions that caused his/her death. I likely wouldn't have commented on this type of thread if I didn't see such ridiculously illogical examples in your arguments.
 

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