California 13-year-old to attempt to climb Everest

Associated Press ^ | 4/6/10 | Raquel Maria Dillon

[piperpilot]

Although I am not a climber, I have read numerous books about mountaineering disasters on Everest. I fear that this is not going to end well. What kind of parents think a 13 year old possesses the reasoning to understand the hazards of trying to climb Everest? It is attention-seeking at its worst. 100 times worse than balloon boy.

[TokuMei]

Remember the “Girls Can Fly” 13-year-old from Half Moon Bay 7 years ago?

The press trumpted her to high heavens.

She crashed and died.

[ConorMacNessa]

Where’s Child Protective Services when you actually need them?

[earlJam]

I agree with you. What parent would allow this?

My guess is that the dad is a mountaineer.

[pnh102]

I smell a Darwin Award candidate.

[historyrepeatz]

Child abuse. But he can stay on his parent’s health care plan until he’s 26.. If he makes it.

[cweese]

Did you bother to read the article you posted?

Jordan will attempt the ascent to 29,035 feet with his father and his father's girlfriend, both experienced outdoors people who have helped train the teenager for top-level mountaineering.

At age 10, he became the youngest American to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak. He's steadily checked off four of the tallest peaks since then, including Alaska's Mount McKinley, which many climbers consider to be a more technical climb than Everest.

[databoss]

Place this one in the tragedy category along with the child pilot who died unnecessarily. ..hopefully the child services will step up and prevent this...

[Sax]

The extreme cold, lack of oxygen, falls, exhaustion and avalanches have killed hundreds of climbers. Many of their bodies remain beside the trail.

"Son, if you're gonna be dumb, ya gotta be tough. Don't wind up like these here frozen corpses."

[al baby]

corpsesman

HE HE HE

[Frantzie]

Can you imagine how freaking creepy that would be. Climbing past all these others frozen up there.

[ansel12]

Guides who have experience with Everest say Jordan will probably be safe, as long as he and his team pay close attention to how their bodies are reacting to the high altitude and low oxygen conditions near the peak.

I don't see the big deal, he is fit and healthy and he will do what he is told and will never be alone.

This is a matter of putting one foot in front of another with experts walking beside you to tell you when to stop, when to eat, when to use oxygen, when to go left or right, either he is fit enough for it or not, he will not be making decisions and judgements.

[Vaquero]

yeah...let your 13 year old lose his fingers, toes or die on the slopes...

the parents should be arrested for child abuse if they let him do this...

[Frantzie]

LOL! Corpseman. He is such an evil evil idiot.

[left that other site]

I teach 13 year olds.

I DO NOT APPROVE.

[Sax]

corpsicle

[Frantzie]

LOL! Oh you are the pro-McCain maroone.

Yeah no big deal. One big freaking storm on the mountain that blow up daily there and junior becomes a lifetime popsicle on Everest.

If you get a storm or one screw up on Everest - you are screwed.

[CT-Freeper]

Good luck to this young lad. I'm sure it will be an amazing experience. Sounds like he's already become quite skilled at mountain climbing, having already conquered Kilimanjaro and McKinley.

[latina4dubya]

I fear that this is not going to end well. What kind of parents think a 13 year old possesses the reasoning to understand the hazards of trying to climb Everest?

the same kind of parents that Jessica Dubroff had... she was the 7-year old who died when the plane she was piloting crashed in Wyoming back in 1996... i remember her mother saying something like, “she died doing what she loved.” oh—she loved crashing in a storm?

[RC2]

I have a friend that wanted to climb the seven tallest mountains in the world. She climbed six of them and the last one scared her to death. The seventh one was Everest and she said no way. When she did this, each mountain was harder than the last. Everest was just too much for her to handle.