Unfortunately, you don’t have to send it to get injured pretty bad, either 
. Goes with the territory.
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I wouldn’t go off most of those jumps you see pro XC!
I approach mountain biking like I do road riding - generally the tires don’t leave the ground. 
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Mtb is my favorite discipline at the moment, and I rarely “send it” on more than a table top. I mostly focus on techy trails.
It helps that I ride a 120mm hardtail, so sending it ain’t really an option anyway.
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I bought a mountain bike to go on light gravel and bumpy roads. so much more comfy.
i’m a wimp. both my wheels will be on the ground at all times.
respect for all of those people injured for trying…looks like a few were in over their heads…hopefully they are still riding and not discouraged.
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I was like that until 4-5 years ago. Came from riding in the Midwest. Then moved to Colorado. Got comfortable with drops first. Then some modest jumps. It’s a natural skill progression riding the trails in Colorado and Utah.
Just in case anybody doesn’t have the full background…
That drop had a ramp during the practice laps. IIRC, it was sign-posted and announced via race supps that the ramp would be removed during the race. Somehow MvdP missed the memo. Notice that he doesn’t even try to make the jump - he just rolls straight off the edge.
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I don’t know what you mean. I’ve only broken 2 collarbones (1 plated), a few ribs, my tibia, rotator cuff tear, ruined my hip… 
But on the other hand…nothing beats the other 99% of the time when I’m not crashing.
(Any excuse to post this pic)
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I find it safer than road riding as you don’t have drivers trying to kill you - I feel like my destiny is in my own hands on the MTB. Whereas on the road you’re only one dozy driver away from the hospital…
I’ve also got a 120mm hardtail so again the opportunities are slightly limited for full send. My brother dragged me down an enduro trail in Innerleithen on it and I promptly bruised/cracked a rib.
The only really bad crash I’ve ever had on my MTB i was going along a farm track at about 12MPH and took one hand off the bars to get a bug out of my ear just as the front wheel hit a lump of wood in one of the tractor ruts. I washed out and went down instantly, face first, in a contorted mess with my head jammed at a jaunty angle against the edge of the ruts.
I genuinely thought i’d broken my neck. I had to sit still for a few minutes before riding home with blood dripping down my face and i looked like i’d been attacked with an iron bar.
I never messed up like that doing a gap jump…
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Let’s be real, hospital is one hell of a lucky outcome.
(I myself was a roadie for years before moving to Colorado. Now I have a “luxury” of not having to take a bike off the trainer).
I’m retired and ride both MTB & road. But I don’t do jumps, drops, anything I don’t feel comfortable with or anything above an intermediate trail. Sure, I go down from time it time since there is a lot of loose stuff on the local trails I ride but these are generally low speed crashes that result in a few scrapes. Worst thing I had happen was getting 3 stitches in my palm from rock that ripped through my glove but the only reason I got them was it was a flap wound that I knew I would end up tearing open before it healed.
I ride one discipline for a few weeks or months then switch over to the other since I get bored. One thing I love about road riding though is the maintenance and associated costs on a road bike are at least an order of magnitude less than a FS MTB.
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