OM, for myself getting out and away is something I have to do. It is my place to get centered and brush away the (what I consider) contrived trappings and stresses of our society. And of course mental toughness is important out there in the back country. But mental toughness is just important in life. Period. I get what ppine was saying. But when I got dropped off in the mountains to map geology alone for 7 days, I loved it. As egotistical as this sounds, I am very confident in the back country off trial. I want to be there. My wife would have hated it. She is not into it; she likes nice trips like hut to hut in the Dolomites. But I do not consider myself mentally tougher than her. She is plenty tough when she wants to be.

Another thing too, if you have the skill set, mental toughness doesn't come into the equation nearly as often unless you put yourself in the position to need it. Say...hiking the JMT in January. No matter how much you have prepared, that trip would be about both skills AND mental toughness.....and maybe some luck too.