by robo » Sun Oct 06, 2013 4:36 pm
I personally think that high altitude scrambling is more dangerous than climbing. Most people gain experience in climbing by learning from others and climbing clubs and in general go up much used and analysed routes. Most scrambles will be at the end of an intermediate to long walk by tired hill walkers who may or may not have experience of scrambling whether it be up scree or rock face, wet or dry with or without moss/lichen, will they have they the correct boots?, is the backpack too prominent?, can they store the walking poles etc. Conclusion for me, climbers are more focused with a better idea of what is ahead and carry the gear to deal with a range of possibilities. Walkers are usually out for a longer day with many different surfaces, moss, grass, heather, peat hags, scree, rocks, boulders etc and no way to carry specific gear to tackle all these as it would be too heavy so a compromise is always accepted and therefore an element of risk. So both are not without risk, choose your route according to experience and ability and when that runs out lean on others and learn from their experience. If you are relying on Insurance companies to pay out then be honest and accept the cost of covering the risk.
