lcarreau wrote:

Sarah Simon wrote:There are plenty of 15 year old kids sitting around playing video games, experimenting with drugs or shoplifting.

Yeah, but ain't kids supposed to be REFLECTIONS of their own parents ??? Sorry, just saying that MIGHT be the reason.

I meet Matt Moniz,another teenage phenom, and happy he was nothing like his dad.

ScottyP wrote:

Vitaliy M. wrote:

-42 Expeditions to McKinley in Alaska, 30 summits, the current record!

OMG that is a lot of wasted time

V, it's his job! In 2012 count your trips to the copy machine!

Trips to copy machine take about 1-3 minutes. 42 expeditions to the same peak would be about 42 x 3 weeks. I would not like that job.

Went to his website. The energy drink ad and photos just screams "douche". But I guess you have to sell out to advertisers in order to have the money to do something like that. I doubt he's actually a douche. If you are gonna be able to fund trips like he's taken, you have to be super self-promotional, even if it's not your normal personality. I would love to climb all those peaks at that age.

Sarah Simon wrote:There are plenty of 15 year old kids sitting around playing video games, experimenting with drugs or shoplifting. This kid gets off his butt to do the 7 Summits. Good on 'em.

I significantly agree with this. While we can question his motives, his parents, who got credit for what, his marketing/brand, etc....but at the end of the day, a 15 year old spending time outdoors is a significant step in the right direction.

Jaskic wrote:

Sarah Simon wrote:There are plenty of 15 year old kids sitting around playing video games, experimenting with drugs or shoplifting. This kid gets off his butt to do the 7 Summits. Good on 'em.

I significantly agree with this. While we can question his motives, his parents, who got credit for what, his marketing/brand, etc....but at the end of the day, a 15 year old spending time outdoors is a significant step in the right direction.

When I was 15 years old, I was ALWAYS outside. I made up excuses just to go OUTSIDE. But, we didn't have computers, satellite phones and digital devices
WAY back then. We also had "limited funds" for doing all the things we couldn't do for lack thereof ..

Glad to see the lad outside, but there's OTHER factors involved here contributing to the young man's success.

lcarreau wrote:

Jaskic wrote:

Sarah Simon wrote:There are plenty of 15 year old kids sitting around playing video games, experimenting with drugs or shoplifting. This kid gets off his butt to do the 7 Summits. Good on 'em.

I significantly agree with this. While we can question his motives, his parents, who got credit for what, his marketing/brand, etc....but at the end of the day, a 15 year old spending time outdoors is a significant step in the right direction.

When I was 15 years old, I was ALWAYS outside. I made up excuses just to go OUTSIDE. But, we didn't have computers, satellite phones and digital devices
WAY back then. We also had "limited funds" for doing all the things we couldn't do for lack thereof ..

Glad to see the lad outside, but there's OTHER factors involved here contributing to the young man's success.

Just to be on the up and up, my childhood (in the 1980's) already had the electronics. My father bought me some of the first Apple computers to play with when I was 7 or 8 (I think). I'm pretty sure that my generation/peers were the first to really stop playing outdoors and start to spend more time indoors.

Jaskic wrote:Just to be on the up and up, my childhood (in the 1980's) already had the electronics. My father bought me some of the first Apple computers to play with when I was 7 or 8 (I think). I'm pretty sure that my generation/peers were the first to really stop playing outdoors and start to spend more time indoors.

Dr. Hans Krause, notable 'Gunks pioneer and an expert in treating back and sports injuries was treating President Kennedy for his back problems. He reportedly told Kennedy that we were raising a generation of back problems due to the brand new age of television. Thus the Presidential Physical Fitness Test we all had to take in schoolwas conceived and implemented. This was back in the 60s' so if it wasn't an earlier generation that really stopped playing outdors and spending more time indoors it was at least as early as the baby boomers.

Jaskic wrote:
Just to be on the up and up, my childhood (in the 1980's) already had the electronics. My father bought me some of the first Apple computers to play with when I was 7 or 8 (I think). I'm pretty sure that my generation/peers were the first to really stop playing outdoors and start to spend more time indoors.

Yeah ... I can DIG that ...

I'm not KNOCKING anybodies "age group" or "chose of lifestyle." Just saying ... THINGS have changed. Most definitely ...

Back in my long lost "Whipper Snapper" days, if my Mom had caught me "GOOGLING" the neighbor ... she would have KILLED me. Plain and simple.

ExcitableBoy wrote:

Jaskic wrote:Just to be on the up and up, my childhood (in the 1980's) already had the electronics. My father bought me some of the first Apple computers to play with when I was 7 or 8 (I think). I'm pretty sure that my generation/peers were the first to really stop playing outdoors and start to spend more time indoors.

Dr. Hans Krause, notable 'Gunks pioneer and an expert in treating back and sports injuries was treating President Kennedy for his back problems. He reportedly told Kennedy that we were raising a generation of back problems due to the brand new age of television. Thus the Presidential Physical Fitness Test we all had to take in schoolwas conceived and implemented. This was back in the 60s' so if it wasn't an earlier generation that really stopped playing outdors and spending more time indoors it was at least as early as the baby boomers.

Interesting info.
As far as the OP goes, I am happy for that kid-pretty cool to climb that sort of stuff at that age(or any age, really).

TimB wrote:

ExcitableBoy wrote:

Jaskic wrote:Just to be on the up and up, my childhood (in the 1980's) already had the electronics. My father bought me some of the first Apple computers to play with when I was 7 or 8 (I think). I'm pretty sure that my generation/peers were the first to really stop playing outdoors and start to spend more time indoors.

Dr. Hans Krause, notable 'Gunks pioneer and an expert in treating back and sports injuries was treating President Kennedy for his back problems. He reportedly told Kennedy that we were raising a generation of back problems due to the brand new age of television. Thus the Presidential Physical Fitness Test we all had to take in schoolwas conceived and implemented. This was back in the 60s' so if it wasn't an earlier generation that really stopped playing outdors and spending more time indoors it was at least as early as the baby boomers.

Interesting info.
As far as the OP goes, I am happy for that kid-pretty cool to climb that sort of stuff at that age(or any age, really).

Okay ... okay, GUILTY as charged ... as a Baby Boomer, I used to STAY INSIDE to watch Clint Eastwood talking to the trees ..

lcarreau wrote:

TimB wrote:

ExcitableBoy wrote:

Jaskic wrote:Just to be on the up and up, my childhood (in the 1980's) already had the electronics. My father bought me some of the first Apple computers to play with when I was 7 or 8 (I think). I'm pretty sure that my generation/peers were the first to really stop playing outdoors and start to spend more time indoors.

Dr. Hans Krause, notable 'Gunks pioneer and an expert in treating back and sports injuries was treating President Kennedy for his back problems. He reportedly told Kennedy that we were raising a generation of back problems due to the brand new age of television. Thus the Presidential Physical Fitness Test we all had to take in schoolwas conceived and implemented. This was back in the 60s' so if it wasn't an earlier generation that really stopped playing outdors and spending more time indoors it was at least as early as the baby boomers.

Interesting info.
As far as the OP goes, I am happy for that kid-pretty cool to climb that sort of stuff at that age(or any age, really).

Okay ... okay, GUILTY as charged ... as a Baby Boomer, I used to STAY INSIDE to watch Clint Eastwood talking to the trees ..

I never talked to trees much...but I did climb a few in my day.
:

lcarreau wrote:

Jaskic wrote:

Sarah Simon wrote:There are plenty of 15 year old kids sitting around playing video games, experimenting with drugs or shoplifting. This kid gets off his butt to do the 7 Summits. Good on 'em.

I significantly agree with this. While we can question his motives, his parents, who got credit for what, his marketing/brand, etc....but at the end of the day, a 15 year old spending time outdoors is a significant step in the right direction.

When I was 15 years old, I was ALWAYS outside. I made up excuses just to go OUTSIDE. But, we didn't have computers, satellite phones and digital devices
WAY back then. We also had "limited funds" for doing all the things we couldn't do for lack thereof ..

Glad to see the lad outside, but there's OTHER factors involved here contributing to the young man's success.

You don't remember 'Pong' from the late 1970s? It was a set-top box you hooked to your television, made by Atari (?). A neighbor had one and we used to play it everyday (he had the two-player version). After a few months it became pretty boring and we were back outside after school while the game box gathered dust.

As for the Romeros: Isn't one of his parents involved in adventure racing?, either as a participant or administrator? Makes for easy access to sponsors. You'll also note on his website that you can hire him for 'motivational speaking'. Kind of hard to swallow the sincerity of his 'I decided to do it for myself' quote when he's got all those sponsors and the '$peaker-for-hire' option.

speaker for hire option might also be to refund a loan he took to accomplish this or for funding for his next trips ...

Kinda understandable that you rather do some motivational speeches than do a barjob/factory job to earn the money ...

I see nothing wrong with him doing it. When I was 9-10 my dad had my brother and I rappel in a 80 ft deep cave drop using figure 8's. I loved it. From 12 years age until recently (25) I have done absolutely no caving or climbing of any sort. The climb gym at school doesn't even allow figure 8's.