13 yr old On Everest

[Cat]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapc....html?hpt=Sbin

I think he is on the North Col now, so he sounds as if he is going strong.

However, as you can imagine, this has raised quite a stir....is he too young to climb? What are the effects of high altitude on such a young person? If he dies, are the parents to blame? If he suceeds, will a 12 yr try next?

He has his share of critics and supporters....I personally wish him a safe climb and am following his prgress. I'd like to see him summit, but not for any record, just for his own...hmm....I don't kow the correct word, goal? spirit?

Sorry, I am in a Everest/Himalaya kick....lots of interesting things going on now.

Thoughts? Should he have even been allowed above Base Camp?

[Kimmik]

I would have to say go for it... if that kid is good enough to climb then I will cheer him on. He may be only 13 but he has the spirit to rival many adults.

[LeChatNoir]

I don't know, honestly. I mean...he's not going it alone, so I guess that's good. But I don't think I would let my son do something like that. Everest has killed many able-bodied adult climbers, I just don't think I'd want to risk the life of a child.

[HYHYBT]

I'm undecided on whether he ought to be doing it or not... but since he is, there's certainly no reason not to hope he succeeds.

[Cat]

I'm undecided on whether he ought to be doing it or not... but since he is, there's certainly no reason not to hope he succeeds.

Pretty much Sadly, I have seen comments where people where hoping he would not come back, so more kids won't climb. Or it was just people posting stupid comments on news forums, ha.

[Boozy]

Thirteen year-olds suck at risk assessment.

It's one thing for an adult to make a decision to do something that risks his life. An adult has the capacity to weight the risks (possible death) vs. the rewards (climbing Mount Freakin' Everest!)

A child can't properly understand the risks. Parents do it for them.

The parents really dropped the ball here, in my opinion. This kid had no idea what he was getting into. Mommy and Daddy should have put their foot down. If he really wants to climb Mt. Everest, he can still do it at the age of 18.

[Cat]

The kid doesn't seem to an idiot (he might be, never met him, ha), he does know Everest is a beast of a mountain....he's climbed most of the 7 summits.

He's at ABC now....no one at the mountain is summiting yet...too early (and there was an avalanche at the North Col...scary)


Good thing is he does have a team with him...if were to go out alone I'd call him a huge moron.

[Cat]

Yup, I am bumping my own thread


Update: Jordan is now at Camp 2....looking to summit May 22/23rd.

Apa Sherpa, on his 20th summit attempt, might be summiting 21/22

Weather is a bit iffy, as always.

[fireheart17]

there was a big hoo-ha in the news recently down here about Jessica Watson.

I'm not too sure if anything was mentioned overseas, but here's the short version: 16-year-old girl wants to become the youngest to sail around the world solo. While she had help for safety reasons, she charted her own course and slept on the boat on her own. She's not officially recognised due to the group that does handle these records drawing a line under them (something to do with safety). She returned home recently and pretty much took the wind out of our PM's sails (he said that she was a hero, she interrupted and said that she wasn't a hero, just a normal girl who achieved her dreams).

Before, during and after the attempt, never before I have seen so much bitching. EVER. Despite the media stating that she had the experience, she'd done test runs in varying conditions up and down the coast of Australia, there was still a heap of bitching about the fact that she was too young to attempt to do anything, she's only doing it for the fame, what happens when she's back on dry land....one of the commenters went far enough to say that he hoped her boat would capsize in a storm! (someone else said that it was a waste of resources...given that she paid for the boat herself and most of her trip was funded by various sponsors well before the trip, I fail to see where they said it was taxpayer funded)

Interestingly, a few days after Jessica returned home, a 40-year-old Adelaide woman wanted to motorcycle around the world. Interestingly, nobody batted an eye.

ETA: I should add as well that she DOES have a manager, who basically knocked back quite a few offers for her to be in magazines or on TV shows. She stated herself that it wasn't for a cash grab.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

It's a hard decision. I've seen some 13-year old children with a clear assessment of their own limitations and abilities. I've seen some 40-year old people look at their friends and say "Hey Ed! Watch me do [something phenomenally stupid]" and then end up in the hospital.

If the kid has sufficient experience with mountain climbing (and it is amazing how much they can have thanks to Boy Scouts and other outdoor agencies) and there is a properly trained support staff...let him do it.

[Cat]

Yup, Jessica was mentioned a few times over here, and I did see updates when I was reading about the teams on Everest (explorer's web.com, if you're interested) I know nothing about sailing, but more power to her, and love her "I am a normal girl" attitude.

I can't believe (ok, I can) that people would want her to capsize....though people were saying they hopes Jordan will die, as a "lesson" to the next 13 yr old.

Seeing today's youth, I don't think there is too much of an issue of them wanting to sail around the world or climb 8000m peaks

Anyway....whatever on thinks about it...he's there, he's climbing, he's looking to summit this weekend. I'll be watching the interwebs, and wishing him and all teams a safe summit, and more importantly, a safe return.

[Cat]

He summited!!!