Baarb wrote:MarthaP wrote:Where are we failing with education that either prepares people for the reality of the high peaks or scares them the heck away?
I don't know about where you are but is there really any kind of such formal outdoors training available, e.g. in high-schools? Unless savvy parents are gonna teach their kids I don't see how your regular person is gonna be able to anticipate without some degree of research what a mountain can throw at them.
One would hope formal education would be available to the general public, but there is nothing across the board. There are programs for at-risk kids, Outward Bound programs, that sort of thing. Overall, though, it's like trying to teach Americans English. "I alriddy no hows to talk and spill so why does I need to stoody?"
Folks look out their windows, see the outdoors, and decide they already know what to do and how to handle themselves. I mean, it's just an afternoon hike for a couple of hours, the sun is shining....
We do have a terrific opportunity with the media, though - television mostly. Sadly they're more interested in selling a story than selling any kind of truth or education.
And, of course, everyone loves a good accident, the more embellished, the better.