Another reason I don't try mountain climbing...

CinnamonGirl wrote: I think he is 38. He prides himself of being a mountain survivor. Not my speed. Is 38 too old? I mean for the mount everest thing? HE was a marine too. He had some great marine stories.

No but what if he waits till his kids are grown and then he is early to mid 50's. Is that too old? Probably not but he definitely won't be in as good of shape as when he was 38.

The Viking wrote:

oscar615 wrote:

CinnamonGirl wrote: I have a friend that said he is going to climb everest. Now he has three young kids and I asked him if he would be worried about dying. He said 1 out of 10 chance. I wondered why anyone would risk that with little kids. He was the mountaineering type and loves danger. I thought he was nuts.

Yes and selfish. He should wait until his kids are out of the house.

Then he might be too old to atempt it. And we all take chaces everyday just by getting in our car on the highway. Or for us up here, driving in snowstorms to get to work. Everyday, we all come in harms way many times I am sure but it just never happens and we don't know about it. Just last winter a car lost it on a bridge on ice and just missed me and hit the guard rail. If they would have hit me it may have been all over.

And for me, to have tried what you love and to pursue your passions is to truly live. I have skydived a few times, and bungee jumped a few times out of a balloon. Cage dived with sharks, (still want to swim with a whale and Great White), and jumped out of a raft and rode down class 2-3 rapids to see what it felt like. And many other things that have caused me dislocations, broken bones, and concussions. I will try anything once. Climbing Everest to me holds no appeal at all but I understand the draw and desire to attempt things while you are still able. And I don't begrudge anyone the right to live life to the fullest. I know with kids it may seem selfish but to me it is showing them that there is a great big world out there to go and tackle, and nothing is impossible, and not to just sit in front of the TV and play video games.

I disagree. It does not matter if he is to old then or not. If he is to old, then he does not get to do it. He made the choice to have children. He now must be there to raise them. At that point it becomes about sacrifice. His sacrifice for his children.

I see this as another example of what is wrong with the young people of this nation right now. Parents breeding selfishness into their children. Parents wanting kids but not wanting to raise them, so the kids raise themselves on TV or a nanny or whatever raises them. Or raising them to be so selfish that they cannot see anyone else. They become spoiled brats. Both examples, and there are more, teach the children that selfish is OK. Either way they are being taught that responsibility and delayed gratification are not worth anything. He is teaching his children that this mountain is more important to him than they are. And that his wants are more important also.

If he wanted children then he should sacrifice himself for them. If he wanted to run around the world doing the stuff HE likes then he should not have had children.

I want a motorcycle. I had one before I had kids. I was involved in a motorcycle accident. Fortunately, I was not hurt seriously. But I will not be getting one on the slight chance that I could get injured or die because of it. When they are grown, and I am no longer responsible for them, I will get it.

I do not believe that parents should purposely put themselves in danger, while they have children they are responsible for. If he dies then he cannot provide. It's that simple.

jmho

The Viking wrote: And for me, to have tried what you love and to pursue your passions is to truly live. I have skydived a few times, and bungee jumped a few times out of a balloon.

OK, THAT'S JUST SILLY!!!

The Viking wrote: Cage dived with sharks, (still want to swim with a whale and Great White),

swam with blues & hammerhead sharks off San Diego, and did swim with a whale, but not close enough to touch. No desire to even be in the same ocean as a Great White. had a Moray Eel take a nibble out of my wet suit arm, but my fault shouldn't go night diving after "bugs", and reach into a hole ya can't see the bottom of, glad I didn't pi$$ him off.

The Viking wrote: and jumped out of a raft and rode down class 2-3 rapids to see what it felt like.

Yes, and it hurt!



A LOT!

But have you run across 395 in San Diego in the morning totally faced, and getting to the other side and realizing that there's about a 30' foot drop, good thing we were faced, didn't hurt until the next day. Then climb the recently burnt hillside just because, we found out from that side that there is a huge drainage pipe under the freeway, but it gets really dark in the middle, did I mention we didn't have shoes on...
Nothing like waking-up with a hangover, black from your waist down, clothes ripped, cut-up and bloodied, swelling like a sewer and stale beer & smokes, and saying "WTH, happened?"

Climb from the front seat of a Toyota truck, (while the driver is doing 70), and back again just to get a beer from the cooler in the bed?

O got to drive 145-150mph on the Autobahn, then got too scared, and slowed down to 90.
Got my Mom's FORD station wagon to 120mph in San Diego.

Remember when we where invincible?
:thumbsup: