It's true, folks like me can be kinda sensitive.

You have a good point about the relative risk rates of climbing and
flying. Honestly, it's very hard to find comparative data. And it's not
even clear what would be comparative? Deaths per year per 100,000
practitioners? That would not distinguish between people who climb/fly
a lot or a little? Or deaths per 100,000 hours? That would not account
for the fact that people don't climb continuously for hours like pilots
fly. Also, how does one account for the level of training? (There's no
climber's certificate, though sometimes I think there should be.) So
it's hard.

You also could try to separate out certain types of particularly
dangerous climbing that that most climbers don't do, such as solo free
climbing. (ie, no rope, no mistakes allowed). Fact is, climbing often
attracts a certain type of risk taker, and to be honest, many climbers
are just not as thoughtful as pilots -- but that doesn't mean that
climbing is to blame.

What is definitely true is that your chance of injury (scraped skin,
twisted ankles, broken bones) is a good deal higher for rock climbing
than flying. Death, however, is going to be much closer.

In any case, I'm really pushing my luck, because I sometimes fly to go
climbing!
And do think, my mother used to joke that her precious children should
only be allowed to play checkers -- and then, only wearing goggles.

-- dave j