Originally Posted by
dakkg651
In the pre huggy-fluffy days, vertical metal ladders on the outside of buildings and towers were fitted with metal hoops to give the same feeling of security.
When I were a mere strip of a lad I would ascend 3-4 decks on a vertical ladder with no hoops at all. I would never climb the mast however.
I think this is similar to climbing a ladder to the roof. The mast ladder was as if you were climbing in space whereas the ladder secured to the superstructure gave an illusion of safety.
You get the same illusion leaning over a balcony railing. You can also stand on the balcony, hands in pockets, no problem. Remove the railing ............
The issue is thus one of perceived insecurity which is probably the root cause of the phobias.