Those pictures are heartbreaking. I don't think any one of them would have taken that risk if they thought they really might die.

When my oldest son was in college, two of his friends decided (on a dare) to climb up a huge tower at night. It had rained earlier in the day. One of them fell on the way down and died. He was a happy, fun-loving guy who (I'm sure) intellectually knew the danger but never thought something bad could happen to him.