"Mike Marlow" wrote:

Years ago, I wasn't quite as bad when it comes to ladders. I could
get up them and down them, as long as I didn't hang out on one for
too long. I was in fire departments for years, and got up on more
than a few roofs, to ventilate structures, and often came back down
doing a fireman's slide. Was not too much of a problem. Over the
years though, my fear of heights has grown in an inverse
relationship to the rate of growth of hair on my head, and today I
can't do squat on a ladder. If I feel the ladder flexing under me,
mental things start that are out of my control, and I just freeze
up. That's it - no more fun and adventure for Mike - I'm just stuck
there. It's insane how long it takes me to make my way back down.
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I've always had a healthy respect for ladders and climbing them.

Keep your feet on the edge of the rungs, don't look down, etc.

As a sailor, it was sometimes necessary to climb the mast to
perform maintenance which can make climbing a ladder look like
a piece of cake.

Picture being 50 ft above the water, holding on to a 8"-12" mast
that is rocking back and forth with the wind and waves maybe
10-15 degrees off center.

It can be (is) purely a white knuckle experience.

20 years ago, I'd climb a mast.

Today, forget it.

The older I get, the closer to the ground I want to stay.

Lew