This guy is amazing.
Maybe if his family were dead, and he had no girlfriend (or, if they were only casual), then maybe I could understand going for it. But, if anyone else would suffer as a result of his fall, then it is akin to suicide which harms those left behind. His girlfriend knows she is his second love, not his first...or that he has an addiction which can harm both of them but he nonetheless cannot fix.
"He was doing what he loved" works when the person is a firefighter, or a policeman, or a soldier. But, he's basically playing Russian Roulette, either for kicks & grins, or because he desires fame, or (IMO) because he has a personal compulsion which he must satisfy, and which could perhaps be addressed with counseling.
a) The girlfriend knew exactly what she was getting into. He's been doing this for years and she is a recent addition.
b) A certain subset of humans are going to take "crazy" risks to do something totally new. Check out this woman breaking the land speed record on a bicycle. The tiniest flinch or sneeze would leave her strewn across the salt flats without any skin:
Or this guy breaking the record for largest wave ever surfed:
I realize neither are really arguments for the merits of trying things like this, but they are still amazing achievements that can make humans proud to be humans.
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Of course we will read about his death at some point...
Which by the way made me physically ill watching, I had to turn it off.
Both are equally dangerous. Grand Canyon requires guts, endurance, balance. El Cap requires tremendous strength, endurance, balance, stamina, guts. Both guys are rare specimens.
I struggled with the Grand Canyon skywalk, not a big fan of heights.
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Naw...probably not.
And, you are right...we will be reading about this guy's death soon.