Literally! Closures are often justified by “if we save just one life.” But these closures actually take part of our lives from us. Hours and days are taken from us. We may still breathe and have heartbeats but none of our goals and dreams are being realized. Our lifespans are limited so we really lose when our plans are disrupted. How much do we lose? Collectively, it's a lot!
Consider closing Interstate 80 over Donner Summit for a day. 170,000 cars per day go over the summit, three times that on a holiday weekend(tahoedailytribune.com). Up to 510,000 on a big weekend like President's Saturday. I80 closed for a full day - that's a lot of days lost from people's lives.
If the average lifespan is 72 years (WHO) that's about 26,000 days. Caltrans just did the equivalent of killing almost 20 people by closing I80 last weekend! No blood, no funerals but real life experiences destroyed for a huge group.
Continuing this line of reasoning, how damaging were Squaw's closures? People with normal jobs work most of the year. Their vacation time is what most (skiers!) live for. Weekends, holidays and vacation time adds up to about 120 days per year. 20 years at the serious grindstone means you only have 2400 days for yourself (lots of assumptions but plausible). On a weekend, ski week, holiday or an exceptional snow day, 2400 people are likely to show up at Squaw. Close them out and you've killed the equivalent of a person's recreational life. No rescues, no statistics that a lawyer can use against the resort, no news clips but real damage that adds up to significant loss of life (quality).
Preoccupation with safety has consequences. Life is risky no matter what. Choosing to do nothing is actually a choice with its own costs and problems. Helmets, avalanches, tree wells, bad visibility – whatever the fear of the day may be – pale in comparison to suicide and obesity. Do things! Stay open to keep us living.
Eric
Consider closing Interstate 80 over Donner Summit for a day. 170,000 cars per day go over the summit, three times that on a holiday weekend(tahoedailytribune.com). Up to 510,000 on a big weekend like President's Saturday. I80 closed for a full day - that's a lot of days lost from people's lives.
If the average lifespan is 72 years (WHO) that's about 26,000 days. Caltrans just did the equivalent of killing almost 20 people by closing I80 last weekend! No blood, no funerals but real life experiences destroyed for a huge group.
Continuing this line of reasoning, how damaging were Squaw's closures? People with normal jobs work most of the year. Their vacation time is what most (skiers!) live for. Weekends, holidays and vacation time adds up to about 120 days per year. 20 years at the serious grindstone means you only have 2400 days for yourself (lots of assumptions but plausible). On a weekend, ski week, holiday or an exceptional snow day, 2400 people are likely to show up at Squaw. Close them out and you've killed the equivalent of a person's recreational life. No rescues, no statistics that a lawyer can use against the resort, no news clips but real damage that adds up to significant loss of life (quality).
Preoccupation with safety has consequences. Life is risky no matter what. Choosing to do nothing is actually a choice with its own costs and problems. Helmets, avalanches, tree wells, bad visibility – whatever the fear of the day may be – pale in comparison to suicide and obesity. Do things! Stay open to keep us living.
Eric
