kids these days....

[Adam]

jeese

http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/silbergeier07/

[Climbing4life]

Holy Crazy Kid Batman!

[chossmonkey]

I guess thats what you get when you cross a sick strong kid, the absence of fear of a teenager, and no good reason to live mentality of the Eastern Block climbers.

[martha]

we saw at 12 year old girl leading a 5.12+ in Rumney this summer. It was sick. too young to have fear, old enough to want to climb as hard as her brothers... each a couple of years older than her and also onsighting 12's.

[Holly Reid]

I thought she was 9?! Either way, craziness as I flailed beside her on route... hahaha

[Fred]

I think she was 9 and leading overhanging 5.12b on Bonsai Wall.

[martha]

Yeah, now that I think of it...she was 9. which makes it even more insane!!!

yeah, that route was a steep arete. crazy.

[Stan]

i'd say every coin has two sides... read this: http://onlineclimbingcoach.blogspot.com ... rison.html

[Adam]

good article.

[martha]

fingers definately get bigger as I have rings that I can't wear from my pre-climbing days.

Youth over training in climbing is no different than youth overtraining in other sports. It is one thing to climb a few days a week while you also play soccer, ride horses or do gymnastics and quite another to train 20+ hours a week at one specific sport that has the same specific movements and do no other exercise.

[granite_grrl]

So Cara, I guess that means you don't plan on training your little one to be your rope gun?

Fah! What's the point of even having kids then?!

[Fred]

That's what dad's for... training.

[martha]

There is a difference between tying them to a tree with a grigri on their harness and training them 30hrs a week on how to crimp and dyno! If one could actually make some money as a pro climber then maybe I'd consider it, but I'm better off training her to do something else and just take her climbing so she enjoys it in a healthy way... .and belays us when she is big enough.

[Ecaz]

I like how he free climbed the thing.... So he'll risk getting hurt... possible death...

Yet he wears a helm....

[Adam]

I like how he free climbed the thing.... So he'll risk getting hurt... possible death...

Yet he wears a helm....

free climb != free solo

[chossmonkey]

while free solo= free climb

It doesn't always work the other way.


For what its worth, even if he was free soloing it is not unheard of for free soloists to wear helmets to protect themselves somewhat from rockfall in alpine environments.

[Adam]

he wasn't free soloing.... and yah, i remember pics of alex huber wearing a helmet while soloing a 5.12 in the dolomites... looks strange, but makes sense. i know i've hit my head before while mantling or from loose rock.

[chossmonkey]

I find I hit my head way more wearing a helmet. But I'm getting much better about it now that I wear one 95% of the time.