He's already done several of the Seven Summits.

http://www.cbsnews.com/...html?tag=mncol;lst;1

He's already done several of the Seven Summits.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/06/national/main6367552.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;1

In all seriousness, I'm very curious how the chronic hypoxia of high altitude climbing could affect the growing brain of a teenager.

In all seriousness, I'm very curious how the chronic hypoxia of high altitude climbing could affect the growing brain of a teenager.

I wonder if there are enough young altitude mountaineers to make a study. Especially given that climbing requires so many complex decisions to be made, during which we rely on our frontal lobe executive functions to override our more emotional centers. And of course given that the frontal lobe doesn't really become fully developed until our early 20's and those other centers are pretty much fully developed by adolescence....

Of course, we as a bunch aren't necessarily known as being the most rational banana in the bunch, now are we...

...the western kaukasus mountains are considered to be european geologigally anyway, hard to draw a line there ...

I am unfamiliar with these "Kaukasus" mountains. Are they named for Ron Kauk?

You think that's any worse than the affect teenage drug-use will have on his adolescent brain?

You are right, all teenagers take loads of drugs.

In all seriousness, I'm very curious how the chronic hypoxia of high altitude climbing could affect the growing brain of a teenager.

Of course it's sarcasm. I was lashing out against the inane response to my. Sheesh.

seriously? Seriously!?!??

You are right, all teenagers take loads of drugs. I also did say that it's a bad thing he's climbing peaks because it would be worse than all the crack he would otherwise be free basing

When I was in high school, there was a story about some kid who was flying across the country to become the youngest pilot to ever fly across the country.

She crashed just after she took off.

She's dead now. I wonder how much flying even meant to her?

what a bunch of crap. He could be 12 and i would not care a blind guy has climbed everest and so has a guy with no legs. not hard when you pay churpas to hall all your shit and put ropes up for you to just pull your self up with. The only thing is altitude you can either adapt or not. Im going to climb that bitch some day and without oxygen or fixed ropes. like good old hillary.And wish dady would fund 45,000 dollar climbing trip to make me feel special.

Child endangerment.

A child does not posses the judgement to make life and death decisions. They do not have the capacity to fully comprehend the consequences of such decisions nor the ability to assess the risk.

He is not climbing solo, he is with guides. Get off your high horse and acknowledge that he is doing something he wants to do. I think a few people here envy him. He has a goal and made it happen, most people on this forum have goals and find reason why they can't it.
Family, kids, job, money, work and the list goes on.

He is not climbing solo, he is with guides. Get off your high horse and acknowledge that he is doing something he wants to do. I think a few people here envy him. He has a goal and made it happen, most people on this forum have goals and find reason why they can't it.
Family, kids, job, money, work and the list goes on.

I agree with you that it's not child endangerment. I still don't think he should climb it though. He's too young to make a decision to go somewhere with so much potential to go wrong.

I think about myself at 13. Rational thought? Fuck that. I think that was the same year my friend Pat nearly offed himself scrambling around in Vedauwoo before I'd ever even heard of climbing. Same year I rode my bike with a black-powder explosive in my pocket with a marble taped to a primer to show my friend. Yes it worked, had I crashed my bike, I would have blown my leg off. Come to think of it, I think thats the same year I went over a bump on my bike and the stem and handlebar came off in my hands. I don't think I was any different than any other 13 year old kid (cept I had access to black powder).

Long story short, getting him to accept the risk is easy. Getting him to understand it is impossible.

Hahahaha! You're funny. All the climbers that died on Everest in 1995 were either with guides, or were guides themselves. In fact, the majority of people who die there are with guides or are guides.

Taking a kid who is not mature enough to make life or death decisions to a place where 1 person dies for every 5 that summit is, in my opinion, child endangerment.

You are free to disagree with my opinion, but if you are disagreeing on that basis that he will be with guides then you are a dumbass.

Considering that the majority of people who climb Everest are guides or guided makes you statement worthless.

As for being a dumb-ass, I just might be. I guess most people who disagree with you are. Good to kow you can have a discussion without resorting to insults when someone disagrees with you. You seem as mature as many of the 13 year old I work with everyday. Dumb-ass seems to be a popular word among Middle School students.

Worth considering:

The cost to the central nervous system of climbing to extremely high altitude
TF Hornbein, BD Townes, RB Schoene, JR Sutton, and CS Houston


Abstract

To assess the possibility that climbing to extremely high altitude may result in hypoxic injury to the brain, we performed neuropsychological and physiologic testing on 35 mountaineers before and 1 to 30 days after ascent to altitudes between 5488 and 8848 m, and on 6 subjects before and after simulation in an altitude chamber of a 40-day ascent to 8848 m. Neuropsychological testing revealed a decline in visual long-term memory after ascent as compared with before; of 14 visual items of information on the Wechsler Memory Scale, fewer were recalled after ascent by both the simulated-ascent group (a mean [+/- SD] of 10.14 +/- 1.68 items before, as compared with 7.00 +/- 3.35 items after; P less than 0.05) and the mountaineers (12.33 +/- 1.96 as compared with 11.36 +/- 1.88; P less than 0.05). Verbal long-term memory was also affected, but only in the simulated-ascent group; of a total of 10 words, an average of 8.14 +/- 1.86 were recalled before simulated ascent, but only 6.83 +/- 1.47 afterward (P less than 0.05). On the aphasia screening test, on which normal persons make an average of less than one error in verbal expression, the mountaineers made twice as many aphasic errors after ascent (1.03 +/- 1.10) as before (0.52 +/- 0.80; P less than 0.05). A higher ventilatory response to hypoxia correlated with a reduction in verbal learning (r = -0.88, P less than 0.05) and with poor long-term verbal memory (r = -0.99, P less than 0.01) after ascent. An increase in the number of aphasic errors on the aphasia screening test also correlated with a higher ventilatory response to hypoxia in both the simulated-ascent group (r = 0.94, P less than 0.01) and a subgroup of 11 mountaineers (r = 0.59, P less than 0.05). We conclude that persons with a more vigorous ventilatory response to hypoxia have more residual neurobehavioral impairment after returning to lower elevations. This finding may be explained by poorer oxygenation of the brain despite greater ventilation, perhaps because of a decrease in cerebral blood flow caused by hypocapnia that more than offsets the increase in arterial oxygen saturation.

Way more hardcore than some rich little 13 year old shit climbing everest via ferrata:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/.../uk_news/8699359.stm


Man swims 1 km at 17,000 feet on everest.

I'm awaiting the Matt Lauer interview on the Today show before formulating any opinions.

So much for all the nay sayers. Glad to hear he achieved his goal. Yet, one more example of people with no personal goals getting upset when other people set high goals for themselves.

I have personal goals, they just don't involve climbing 7 peaks that I don't feel are particularly worthwhile. But hey..he did, and obviously had the parental monetarybacking to do it...and now he has his name in the record book. That's what we all strive for isn't it?

RR

I know I know...I'm a bitter asshole

So much for all the nay sayers. Glad to hear he achieved his goal. Yet, one more example of people with no personal goals getting upset when other people set high goals for themselves.

So in your mind the fact that he made it invalidates any issues people brought up about this climb? If so, then you truly are a dumbass.

And your assumption that anyone that questions this climb has no personal goals or hasn't met them just shows that in addition to being a dumbass you are a douchenozzle.

What issues, that guides are unsafe. That teens can't make decisions on their own? I didn't validate any of them to begin with. About the only thing I agree with is that a lack of oxygen affects the brain.



As a middle school teacher, I find it funny you would use the word Dumbass. Are you still in 7th grade?

All the climbers that died on Everest in 1995 were either with guides, or were guides themselves. In fact, the majority of people who die there are with guides or are guides.

Taking a kid who is not mature enough to make life or death decisions to a place where 1 person dies for every 5 that summit is, in my opinion, child endangerment.

You are free to disagree with my opinion, but if you are disagreeing on that basis that he will be with guides then you are a dumbass.