Hillwalking license

Ubbquittious

I can see things going this way. In some number of years there will be a tragedy at the top of one of Ireland's mountains. Some people die, rescue will be tricky & expensive. Then a conversation will be started about the damage walkers are doing to the paths. First you'll need to do a course if you want to go above anything about 200m high, then annual insurance, eventually access will be restricted to lots of these places because walkers cause too much damage & risk. People will be encouraged to explore the trails on virtual reality instead.

If you extrapolate the current trend towards environmentalism & safety it will definitely happen at some point. They were already creating a song & a dance about too many walkers going up the same hill during Covid

Nonsense

Gregor Samsa

The problem with your little doom fantasy, OP, is that after two tourist deaths on the steps of Skellig Michael in 2009, a thorough safety review recommended that people should simply be reminded (though signage and in the promotional literature) that climbing the steps is an inherently dangerous task, and it's the responsibility of individuals to mind themselves. Even the notion of putting in a safety fence was rejected.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0530/131634-skelligmichael/

Maybe go out and get a little fresh air, and stop making up scenarios of non-existent oppression in your head.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118930661#Comment_118930661

I hope you are right but that was in 2009. Society has become more risk adverse in the mean time and VR technology is improving. The status quo is not impervious to change. Every time a few fellas plummet to their death on the Skelligs there will be a renewed clamour for safety and bans.

Remarkably specific imagined possibility to get worked up over.

Quantum Erasure

Oi, you got a license for that, mate?