Having had a potentially fatal fall from height, although not a ladder, I wouldn’t class ALL ladder use as needing to avoid.
Using one of those ladders CleanClear is asking about is definitely something to be avoided.
I still clean gutters, despite my fall meaning my right shoulder will never be the same again. I had an x-ray last week on it due to continued poor range of motion. The result is it has arthritis as well as frozen shoulder which I didn’t have before the accident.
Anyway, I don’t clean gutters off a ladder. I use a gutter-vac. Gutter cleaning over here is big business. Many properties have it done twice per year. It brings in something like £400 a day (4 - 5 hours). Gutters are easy to clean as they’re all very wide. At least a 4” gap on all gutters between the roof edge and outside edge of gutter. Lots of peeps have a gutter guard, which isn’t those hedgehog things they have in the UK, but something that covers the gutter and just needs hoovering off.
The only time I’m likely to use a ladder nowadays is to clear a ground floor gutter by hand if I don’t have my vac with me. And that’s an ‘A’-frame ladder not extension.
Ladders really aren’t necessary, why use a flimsy, foldable piece of crap when working at height, isn’t that just nuts?