At a loss

Over the summer I got into rock climbing. Its a fun sport, challenging physically and mentally. I freaked out a little bit the first time Eric lowered me from the top of my first route. It was scary, trusting only a little bit of nylon stitched together and a rope to keep me from falling 50 feet to the ground. Its still scary every once in a while. I still get a little thrill when I fall off the wall.
But you get used to it. You learn to trust your equipment and your belayer. You get used to double checking everything: whether your caribiner is locked, if your knot is tied right, if your harness is double-backed on all the buckles like its supposed to be. Because if you don't, well, you could die. So you back everything up, at least twice, more if you can. But shit still happens.
A friend of mine died ice climbing yesterday. He was one of the most experienced climbers I knew. He was even professional for a while. He knew what he was doing. He knew how to make climbing as safe as it can be. And he did too. Chris Hunnicutt was not a sloppy climber. But he was ice climbing and something happened and he fell and he died.

Its just shitty to think about.