On Sunday, January 21, 2018 at 5:59:41 AM UTC-8, Paul Agnew wrote:
From Facebook:

Sad news from the last race day;
Local Chile pilot Tomas Reich had an accident on the ridges south of Santiago. The Chile SAR recovered Tomas and took him by helicopter to the hospital in Santiago. Unfortunately Tomas died during the evening from the injuries he sustained during the accident. Our thoughts and prayers are for his family and friends during this tragic time.

"Let's be honest. If soaring were a zero-risk activity, like video games, it wouldn't have the same appeal." I do not agree with that statement. In fact the risk in it is exactly what makes it unappealing to many pilots.

There are two kinds of terrain impact hazards. One is flying too close to a ridge and impacting it, where a safe glide away from it to an airport exists. That hazard is greatly mitigated by the skill of the pilot. The other is flying too low over unlandable terrain. That hazard is slightly mitigated by skill, and greatly mitigated by luck. The former is a necessary component of mountain flying, the latter is not.

The pilots who object to the risk of competition, cite two things: mid air collisions, and having to get too low over unlandable terrain. No one I know cites having to fly too close to a ridge as a risk they are unwilling to take - that is part of soaring.