http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/...even-tallest-mountains-earth-seven-continents Now, that sounds pretty amazing and I don't want to take anything from him, but come on. How much of Kilimanjaro did he really climb at age 10? Or Everest at age 13? If I climb a mountain and bring my cat in a bag with me, did he climb the mountain too? Also, one has to question the parents that let their 13 year old son climb the world's tallest mountain. But seriously, thoughts on this?
The difference between Inspiring Individual Story . . . and Darwin award winner . . . . Is rate of survival. This kid falls off the mountain and kills himself everyone would b**** about how his parents should not have allowed it I am not on to chastize when they do fall off . .. but I am not going to congradulate the accomplishment either. Rocket River You want my praise. . . .do a Doogie Houser!
Good for the kid. One of my neighbors (in his early 20's) went to somewhere in Europe to climb some mountain and got injured and froze to death a couple of years ago. That was pretty weird since I used to ball with him.
Gives me thoughts of that teenage sailor that got lost while trying to circle around the world. I commend them for their spirit, but is it that much a tragedy (outside dying) if they fail? They've probably done more things than some of us will ever do.
The first sentence says he successfully summitted the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. Did he did do it solo, no. But it's not like anyone carried him. And as long as the kid can handle the physical and mental stresses of such expeditions, I don't see the harm in it...which he obviously can if he climbed all seven. Plenty other people, twice his age, don't bother to put in the necessary preparation to climb those peaks. They waste tens of thousands of dollars just for the chance to go up Everest, and when they get there, they are either forced to turn back, they put other lives in danger, or get themselves killed.
lol poor parenting but I guess if they're experts at it and if the kid felt comfortable then thats ok
Spot on. I spoke to a guy who had trained for months to climb Everest and put in thousands in preparation. Half way up, one of the team members got injured. He was forced to either turn back or go on w/out him. Needless to say, he has not made it up yet. Its not an easy feat to climb one of these mountains, much less 7
The very highest peaks, like Everest, aren't necessarily all that difficult to climb. Ropes & campsites are left up from previous climbers, and there are mountain guides and locals to carry the heaviest equipment. It's more a matter of acclimating to the oxygen deprivation (have to camp for days/weeks at high altitude before even attempting the highest peaks), and having enough tanks of oxygen once you get there, that matters more than anything. And once you get to the top, you can be turned back if there's bad weather, if (as above) one of your party gets injured, because you and your sherpas can't carry enough oxygen to try to do it again the next day. Read Krakauer's Into Thin Air. It details how climbing Everest in a "pay me $10,000, and I'll take your weeekend warrior fat--ss to the top" type situation turned into a catastrophe, thanks to a sudden storm.
