Related mountain climbing thought: Every corpse on Mount Everest was once a highly motivated person.

How many people that go free climbing actually fall to their deaths though? Were those people not being careful?

People free climbing where death is possible are almost by definition not being careful.

I can assure you that some people climb without being anywhere close to what I’d call “very careful”.

To me, part of being careful includes not trusting any random unknown person or their gear.
It includes double-checking the people I trust and requiring them to double-check me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met plenty of great people who were careful, safe climbers.
I’ve also met a few climbers of a… weird kind, like it’s almost a caricature, but these people exist.

Climbers who could barely tie a knot, climbers that were stoned af, climbers that kept using carabiners or rope that I wouldn’t even trust to tie their dog.

Also: Even careful people make mistakes.