Kids climbing the Seven Summits...

[Gris]

Have mixed feelings after reading the article in latest BP-er mag about the 11 year old from Cal climbing these peaks. What says the mob...?

 

[dr_wu002]

Have mixed feelings after reading the article in latest BP-er mag about the 11 year old from Cal climbing these peaks. What says the mob...?

More to worry about in the world than the fate of one kid. If he makes it, congrats to him, if he dies trying, I could care less.

-Dr. Wu

 

[MichaelJ]

If the kid wants all on their own mind to do it, great, but still a bad idea.
If the parent wants to do it for their own glory or for "what their kid did" then this is about as wacked as a parent can be.

Given that an 11 year old cannot possibly have the strength or physical abilities for certain of the climbs and would be *extremely* assisted, I don't know that I'd give it much credit anyway.

 

[Craig]

My take-away from the articles I've read is, dad is living vicariously through his son.
Lets face it, there's a lot of pain and suffering involved in these exploits.
I have to ask myself, what is motivating this kid to endure this type of torture when most 11-12 yo's are trying to cop their first feel.

 

[beverly]

Two words...

Child abuse

 

[TrishandAlex]

Hmmm....mixed feelings. I don't like to assume parent's motivations, and I don't like to automatically dismiss the athletic qualities of certain kids.

Having married a child climbing prodigy who, among other things, scaled Mount Temple (Canadian Rockies) at age 8 and summited Rainier at age 11, I cannot assume it's all about the parents. My husband's parents never had any ulterior motives. Not that it's remotely the same scale, but I don't have any ulterior motives with Alex.

The truth is, unless you know the family, you've no idea what's really going on. What we do know is that this kid has summited six of the seven summits already. Therefore, he's pretty damn incredible. You don't make six of them unless you've got the goods. One might be a fluke, but six? No.

That being said, there is no way I'd allow a child of mine to climb Everest. Kilimanjaro, yes. Denali....maybe, as a late teenager. The others, no. My reasons boil down to specifics for each mountain, lack of oxygen at the highest altitudes being a big one -- it presents a risk that goes beyond the comfort zone of both myself and my husband.

But that's just me. Romero's parents know their son, and they know the risks, and they have a team of people helping in every capacity. So it's not really my place to judge.

 

[Jean]

I met the Romeros on Denali last summer. We shared a camp site at high camp and they summitted half an hour before our team. The kid is extremely low profile but very focused. Climbing the 7 summits was his idea not the parents but they are extremely enthusiastic and supportive about the whole experience. At no time did I get the feeling they were pressuring the kind into this.
The father is very friendly and outgoing. He's definitely in charge of the PR, I can tell you that.

 

[TrishandAlex]

Thanks for posting your personal experience with this family.

I hope the Romero's Everest expedition goes well. I admire that kid's chutzpah.

 

[Chip]

Child abuse

Only if he dies, right ? If he succeeds, they join the book/movie/talk show circuit and they're set for life. This type of abuse happens every day on every field and in every gym in the world. Like Tiger Woods.

My only problem here is that an adult undertaking this understands, at some level, there's a very good chance of dying or being scarred for life. I do not believe a 10 or 11 year old can comprehend that and make the independent decision to move forward, regardless.

 

[Snowflea]

From what I've read, the kid is pretty self-motivated. I'm certainly no one to judge him or his parents. They know him better than anyone.

OTOH, letting your kid eat crap, get fat, play video games/be online/watch TV for hours on end, etc., is something I DO consider child abuse. Just sayin...

 

[Nutsosa]

Have mixed feelings after reading the article in latest BP-er mag about the 11 year old from Cal climbing these peaks. What says the mob...?

I don't like it, but I'm not his dad. That being said, things could be worse; he could be stuck on the couch playing video games, ingesting loads of junk food, well on his way to type II diabetes.