10 year old girl scales El Capitan in Yosemite National Park:

[Kingofalldems]

Link to tweet

[MissB]

1. Congrats to her!

That’s quite the accomplishment for such a young person! Takes a lot of mental and physical strength!

My son climbed it last summer with a friend (both were 18 at the time). Took them three days. He called me from the top and was super emotional about the accomplishment.

Also, they sleep on ledges on these multi day climbs. That freaks me out. This climber took five days, which means she spent 4 nights on ledges!

[hunter]

2. I've got a kid like that.

It ain't easy and I haven't always been the most encouraging dad, even as I was a kid like that myself.

Happy late Father's day.

[dlk]

3. You Go Girl!

[Zambero]

4. Wow, that is something!

I wonder if that might be a record? She could not have asked for a better view!

[shanny]

5. OK.

Hubby just officially junked his climbing gear: "too old for this shit."

[Laffy Kat]

6. Gee, as a mom this really bothers me.

Son or daughter I would have a difficult time okaying this. Reminds me of that little girl who wanted to fly a light plane across the US. Didn't end well. A mistake while tech climbing can be just as unforgiving as a mistake in a small plane. I just don't know about this.

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/12/us/girl-7-seeking-us-flight-record-dies-in-crash.html

[Kingofalldems]

7. I agree.

[Laffy Kat]

8. I don't question her skill.

Only her 10-year-old judgement. Highly experienced adult climbers make fatal errors.

[hlthe2b]

9. I was in Cheyenne by total coincidence that day not far from the crash site...

I have always been very conflicted on these very dangerous adventure records being undertaken by kids, but, I suppose if they are absolutely determined it may be a difficult decision for the parents.

That girl's plane crash, though, just really got me, especially because the unpredictable winds in WY have always made me dread small planes.

[Laffy Kat]

12. They let her take off in wind, rain, and sleet.

She was with her father and instructor and they let HER make the decision. She had only gotten two hours of sleep the night before, she was seven-years-old, and caught up in all the excitement. It was a disaster waiting to happen. In many instances it's parents living vicariously through their children. I blame the adults.

[hlthe2b]

13. Yes.. I agree. I was speaking more generally to the issue of adventure-seeking children/adolescents.

There is a line where the parents HAVE to step in... clearly.

[Laffy Kat]

15. I wasn't disagreeing with you, just ventilating.

It really got to me when it happened and it was the first thing I thought about when I read the OP.

[MissB]

10. She was roped in with a helmet.

A rockfall could’ve killed her, sure. True of any climber on any day on many routes. She wasn’t free climbing. Even when sleeping on a narrow ledge, she would’ve been roped in.

[Kingofalldems]

11. Yes, where does one sleep on such a cliff?

[MissB]

14. On a ledge.

Some ledges are narrow and some are wider. They’re sleeping tho- in bags- and roped in. They’re also cooking, eating and “taking care of business” so to speak.

My son said most of the ledges were narrow so that you’d be sleeping single file, but it probably matters where you stop. He did the climb in 3 days; she did it in 5. The stopping points would be different.