Turns out I’m actually not afraid of heights.  Rather, my fear stems from concern about my companions’ well-being at great heights.  I stumbled upon this discovery yesterday, while hiking an especially infamous, anxiety-provoking rock feature in Zion National Park — Angels Landing. 

Known earlier as the Temple of Aeolus, Angels Landing juts up from Zion Canyon to 1,488-feet.  That’s not a particularly daunting data point, though.  Even considering that the Canyon floor itself sits at 4,300 feet above sea level, so the summit tops out at about 5,790 feet.   A bit of altitude is at play, for sure, but it’s a minor player in this drama, at best.  And it is definitely a drama.  The National Park Service website officially recognizes five, non-suspicious fatalities along Angels Landing.  And at least 7 additional deaths have been reported here and there.  I’m amazed this number isn’t 7 per day. 

The main protagonists at work…