# Down's Syndrome kid "Climbs Everest"!!! No he didn't. Fark you, People Magazine and daddy. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 31, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452 "2013-03-31T18:54:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/1 "2013-03-31T18:54:09Z")
[http://www.kptv.com/story/21802517/oregon-teen-believed-to-be-first-with-down-syndrome-to-climb-mt-everest](http://www.kptv.com/story/21802517/oregon-teen-believed-to-be-first-with-down-syndrome-to-climb-mt-everest) No, he didn’t. He climbed part way up, something anyone with basic fitness can do if they have the cash. You plonk down $15,000 and are escorted part way up the mountain to base camp. Most folks have to earn that $15,000 - this kid was just handed it, and judging by the cotton khakis he’s wearing in the photo, did not even bother to wear proper gear. People magazine ran this story this morning with this same outrageously misleading headline, but has since changed it after a slew of negative comments. However, the story still contains very misleading quotes and comments, including one from the kid’s father, saying "“It was humbling, it was inspiring, just an amazing moment,”. What? Going part way up but coming nowhere near the summit is “an amazing moment”?? Here’s another one: [http://us.topnewstoday.org/us/article/5269946/](http://us.topnewstoday.org/us/article/5269946/) Again, no. By saying “climbed Everest”, the headline clearly tries to mislead readers into believing that the kid summited. Of course it’s nice that a Down’s Syndrome kid got to have a adventure, albeit a very expensive one most of us can not afford. But the parents and the media inflating stories like this make me stabby. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/2 "2013-03-31T18:58:37Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > [. Most folks have to earn that $15,000 - this kid was just handed it, and judging by the cotton khakis he’s wearing in the photo, did not even \*\*bother \*\*to wear proper gear. I must resist. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/3 "2013-03-31T21:32:22Z")
Fucking one percenters, with their money and birth defects. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/4 "2013-03-31T21:42:54Z")
Is this a whoosh? Or a parody of something I missed? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/5 "2013-03-31T21:44:57Z")
It’s ok to be jealous of someone with Down’s. Also, you read People? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/6 "2013-03-31T21:48:23Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > Most folks have to earn that $15,000 - this kid was just handed it… Lucky disabled kid; what an easy ride he’s getting through life! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/7 "2013-03-31T22:23:46Z")
I’m down with the OP on this. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/8 "2013-03-31T22:25:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I’m down with the OP on this. Boooo. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/9 "2013-03-31T22:30:59Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Boooo. It’s Easter, not Halloween. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/10 "2013-03-31T22:58:40Z")
I agree with this pitting (though I can’t work up the same level of outrage). I don’t mind a good human interest story. I like being inspired as much as the next person. But I don’t care for pap. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/11 "2013-03-31T23:22:19Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Is this a whoosh? Or a parody of something I missed? “Climbing Everest with Down’s Syndrome is like running in the Special Olympics” I think it’s great the kid went to Everest, the reporting leaves a bit to be desired. The press is hoping he sails home on a ship so they can report on him visiting the Marianas Trench as his ship passes over it. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/12 "2013-03-31T23:39:59Z")
The preferred term these days is Down Syndrome, not Down’s Syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/13 "2013-04-01T00:06:43Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > I think it’s great the kid went to Everest, the reporting leaves a bit to be desired. Oh for sure, the reporting was way over the top. Not disputing that, but how ‘else’ could the story have been drafted? “Down’s Syndrome kid manages to get to Base Camp at foot of Everest”…sounds like something the Onion would write, apart from being too long for a header. T’was more this: > [@](#): > > Most folks have to earn that $15,000 - this kid was just handed it, and judging by the cotton khakis he’s wearing in the photo, did not even bother to wear proper gear. And this: > [@](#): > > …including one from the kid’s father, saying "“It was humbling, it was inspiring, just an amazing moment,”. What? Going part way up but coming nowhere near the summit is “an amazing moment”?? …that got my dander up. Like, wtf? So this kid (who btw would most likely never have a chance in hell of actually scaling Everest for medical reasons) does something pretty damned cool all the same, and his dad expresses his pride in the achievement, and this arouses ‘stabby’ feelings in the OP? Seriously? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/14 "2013-04-01T00:29:29Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Oh for sure, the reporting was way over the top. Not disputing that, but how ‘else’ could the story have been drafted? “Down’s Syndrome kid manages to get to Base Camp at foot of Everest”…sounds like something the Onion would write, apart from being too long for a header. As the sun rose over the mountain on that first clear blue sky day of the season the base camp was a abuzz with activity as dozens of climbers and sherpas readied themselves for the assualt. Little Billy, having little else to do than bum a pack of smokes off of Dad and gather up his flip flops, short shorts, and Planet Hollywood Tshirt, started his ascent towards the next little crest before anyone else was even close to leaving camp. At the last moment he hesitated, remembering where he was and grabbed his NASCAR ball cap as well. An hour later, after several wrong turns, he had soloed to the top of the nearby crest. Those people dozens of feet below look almost like ants scurrying about. Well, perhaps just slightly smaller people he didn’t really know. He wondered if the altitude was impairing his judgement. And why mountains were pointy and pointed upwards rather than sideways or downwards. It was a mystery. Then a lightbulb went off in his oxygen starved brain. At this moment he was the highest person on the planet. And nobody could look Down upon him. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/15 "2013-04-01T00:45:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It’s Easter, not Halloween. Ok Thump Thump! ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/16 "2013-04-01T01:15:02Z")
I’m completely ambivalent about mountain climbing (especially Everest, either you die or do something hundreds of people do every year), but I feel the same way about sailing. Every few years some young kid forgoes a normal sophomore year in high school to spend alone in a boat. There is risk, the kid could die, but the feat is watered down by the plethora of GPS equipment, high speed G4 internet access, and a state of the art million dollar sailboat that can sail itself around the world. If the kid hung out in solitary confinement for a year splashing salt water on himself every few hours it’d be the same experience. And roughly the same achievement. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/17 "2013-04-01T01:29:22Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > . . . this kid was just handed it . . . Rarely has so much been said in so few words. ---
**Author:** ![Crime\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e495f1/32.png) [@Crime\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crime_Scene)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/18 "2013-04-01T01:43:03Z")
I saw this interview on Fox News earlier. They were playing up how he was in “much better shape” than everyone else when they finished. My wife and I were commenting back in forth about it and I mentioned something was off. His father was also saying that his son, “Started leading the way.” When the interviewer ask the son if it was hard he simply said, “No.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/19 "2013-04-01T02:10:21Z")
The kid mistakenly climbed Chad Everett. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/20 "2013-04-01T02:11:09Z")
He did “climb Everest”. The articles did not say he “climbed to the top of Everest”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452.md?page=2)