13 Year old to do Everest?

[redthorne]

Wow... I'm not sure if I'm for it or against it.

13-year-old to attempt to climb Everest

* RAQUEL MARIA DILLON,Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A 13-year-old California boy plans to try to climb Mount Everest in a quest to reach the summits of the highest peaks on all seven continents.

Note: there is no permalink, linkage may not work after a day or two
Link

............

[Snow Miser]

I read this article too the other day. If he's the same kid I have read about in the past, he has done many of the other highest peaks in the world. More power to him. He is probably very mature for his age. I look forward to reading about how he makes out.

[MelNino]

I first heard of this over at WhiteBlaze.

I think if he is mentally and physically able to, then he should attempt it. He did the other 6, and while that does not mean success, it does mean he has some experience.

I hope the pressure doesn't get to him.

[BlueDog]

I've followed some of this and quite impressed with this kid.

Had a discussion with my wife the other night about it and she made a valid point with concerns that at 13 years old, the body and brain are still developing and growing. Is it wise/healthy at that age to subject the developing body to that extreme elevation and depriving it of the oxygen it needs.

She also wonders about all these kids that are the youngest to hike the mountain, kayak the oceans, fly around the world, by themselves, just how much of that is parents pressuring the kids to do these extreme feats.

[mtruman]

I'm definitely for kids pushing their limits and challenging themselves beyond what might think is reasonable. I've read a lot about this kid as well and he's truly amazing. I think that there is a line that exists somewhere though and it seems like this may have crossed it. I'm sure that he's more prepared than many of the "tourists" that pay to have guide services drag them up Everest but he's still a boy and has limitations that he can't do anything about. If it does happen I'll be praying that he gets home safely - whether he reaches the summit or not.