Why Take Risks?

An academic paper that attempts to prove what climbers already know: there's a benefit in the risk inherent in climbing. That, alone, can justify the activity. (The authors write specifically about mountaineering but I think their thesis applies to all risk-based sports.)

One point they make about risk, is that if all of the risk were removed from mountaineering, it wouldn't be as appealing. So the benefits of the risks/dangers help answer the question: "Why would you do something that's dangerous?" Here is part of their conclusion:

"On the other hand, risk-taking is good in relation to the value of .. certain ‘experiential’ goods. Two are particularly notable. One is that risk-taking can make one ‘feel alive’ and ‘in the zone’. This may take multifarious forms. It can involve a supercharged adrenaline rush; but it can also have a more serene, meditative and sublime exhilarative quality....These quite intense experiences of utter exhilaration often extend long after the real danger is over and can give rise to a sense of personal fulfillment. A second value.. concerns the ways mountaineers experience themselves as agents. Again this has numerous dimensions. It can involve quite simply experiencing yourself as an effective agent: in general terms, you achieve the things you set out to achieve by competently overcoming the risks constitutive of the challenges you set yourself; at a more specific level, the experience of moving competently (fluently, in control) through the medium in which you are climbing gives rise to a deeply 
gratifying experience of effective agency."

Table 1: Risk of death with sports activities

Cause of Death	Country	Year	Number of Deaths	Population Estimate	Crude Rate per 100,000 population	Odds of Dying (1 in )
BASE Jumping	Norway (Kjerag Massif)	1995-2005	9	20,850	43.17	2,317 jumps
Swimming	Germany	1997-2006	31	1,754,182	1.77	56,587
Cycling	Germany	1997-2006	19	1,754,182	1.08	92,325
Running	Germany	1997-2006	18	1,754,182	1.03	97,455
Skydiving	US	2006	21	2,122,749	0.99	101,083 jumps
	Sweden	1994-2003	9	1,126,704	0.80	125,189
Football	Germany	1997-2006	17	1,754,182	0.97	103,187
Hang-gliding	UK				0.86	116,000 flights
Tennis	Germany	1997-2006	15	1,754,182	0.86	116,945
Sudden cardiac death whilst running a marathon	US	1975-2005	26	3,292,268	0.79	126,626 runners
Horse Riding	Germany	1997-2006	10	1,754,182	0.57	175,418
American Football	US	1994-1999 (average annual figures)	6	1,100,142	0.55	182,184
Scuba Diving	UK					200,000 dives
Table Tennis	Germany	1997-2006	7	1,754,182	0.40	250,597
Rock Climbing	UK				0.31	320,000 climbs
Canoeing	UK				0.13	750,000 outings
Skiing	US	2002/2003	37	57,600,000	0.06	1,556,757 visits