Bee,
Like people at Mt. Whitney, things can be done stupidly and 99% of the time they turn out ok. It's the 1% that gets'ya.
I had a person glissade past me on Mt. Baldy with crampons on and the axe in a total weird postion. She got to the bottom without any injury. You can "wander" and not have any problems 99% of the time but if you step on a floating rock and break an ankle in a canyon that see little to no traffic, you are going to be in trouble...even with a SPOT. I severely sprained ankle doing just that last summer. I was with someone but if I broke and was by myself, I would have been screwed...big time. This is why I do not vary off an itinerary when I am by myself.
