# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/21 "2013-04-01T02:12:45Z")
17,600 feet for 15 grand. That’s 85 cents a foot. I had no idea walking up a mountain was so expensive. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/22 "2013-04-01T03:30:48Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > The preferred term these days is Down Syndrome, not Down’s Syndrome. That’s just dumb. It’s called “Down’s” syndrome because [Dr. John Langdon Down](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Langdon_Down) described it first in the medical literature. There’s no “preferred” term in this case, only a correct one. ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/23 "2013-04-01T04:23:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > He did “climb Everest”. The articles did not say he “climbed to the top of Everest”. Oh, come on. We all know and understand what the phrase “climb Mount Everest” means. And no one would take it to mean climbing to the base camp and calling it a day. Seriously, the OP is a little over the top, but there is no mistaking that he is correct on this one. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/24 "2013-04-01T05:02:31Z")
I’m not getting why this is such a big deal, other than it’s a kid and he has the disability of the month. Otherwise, climbing up to base camp isn’t all that hard is it? I’m not sure this was such a great achievement. ---
**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, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/25 "2013-04-01T05:06:58Z")
> [@splatterpunk](#): > > Oh, come on. We all know and understand what the phrase “climb Mount Everest” means. And no one would take it to mean climbing to the base camp and calling it a day. > > Seriously, the OP is a little over the top, but there is no mistaking that he is correct on this one. Then what phrase would you use to describe what Eli Reimer did if he didn’t climb the mountain? Would you say he ascended Everest? Walked up Everest? Moved vertically on Everest? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/26 "2013-04-01T05:18:00Z")
_Attempted_ Mount Everest - but this kid didn’t; he visited Mount Everest’s Base Camp. Mountain climbers make a very clear distinction between which peaks and routes they’ve attempted and which ones they’ve climbed. Climbed means “all the way to the top”, if you stop five meters below the top it’s an attempt. The OP may be “over the top” (heck, for the BBQ Peeple it’s weaksauce), but seriously, how is that any kind of news? Apparently it’s a slow week even for People. ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/27 "2013-04-01T09:22:27Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > Most folks have to earn that $15,000 - this kid was just handed it, It’s like these mentally disabled kids think they’re entitled or something. Waah wah wah, I have Down’s syndrome, everyone look after me. Get a _job_, mongo. And don’t even get me started on quadriplegics. Fucking layabouts. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/28 "2013-04-01T09:38:08Z")
Stupid unclear language. Need a word that shows you climbed, but did not intend to reach the summit. Of course, the summit is the thing that makes Everest interesting. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/29 "2013-04-01T11:30:54Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Stupid unclear language. > > Need a word that shows you climbed, but did not intend to reach the summit. > > Of course, the summit is the thing that makes Everest interesting. “Sauntered about”? (Works best in a Michael Palin voice.) ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/30 "2013-04-01T11:35:31Z")
Visited ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/31 "2013-04-01T11:41:14Z")
> [@bump](#): > > That’s just dumb. It’s called “Down’s” syndrome because [Dr. John Langdon Down](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Langdon_Down) described it first in the medical literature. > There’s no “preferred” term in this case, only a correct one. I know where the name comes from. There’s been a push in the last decade or so to get rid of all the possessives in disease and syndrome names. I’m not entirely clear on the motivation, but if you look through the literature these days, all the apostrophe-s endings are gone. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/32 "2013-04-01T12:34:37Z")
An accurate headline would me more like, “Youngest Down Syndrome Teen Hikes to Everest Base Camp.” There are some other headlines saying he scaled Mt. Everest, too. That insinuates even more strongly that he got all the way to the summit and that’s just plain wrong. Yes, it was a 10 day hike, 70 miles uphill. But that’s all it was, a difficult uphill hike. No climbing, no scaling happening here. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/33 "2013-04-01T12:39:10Z")
I guess “What’s Down must go up” would be a bit too tacky? ---
**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:** [April 1, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/34 "2013-04-01T12:44:56Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > “Sauntered about”? (Works best in a Michael Palin voice.) Better yet: Billy Connolly. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/35 "2013-04-01T13:22:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Then what phrase would you use to describe what Eli Reimer did if he didn’t climb the mountain? Would you say he ascended Everest? Walked up Everest? Moved vertically on Everest? Climbed partway up Everest. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2013, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/36 "2013-04-01T13:28:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Then what phrase would you use to describe what Eli Reimer did if he didn’t climb the mountain? Would you say he ascended Everest? Walked up Everest? Moved vertically on Everest? Visited Everest Base Camp? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/37 "2013-04-01T13:38:24Z")
I must admit to a sneaking hope that the full headline would read - \ ***"Down Syndrome Kid Climbs Everest - Team Has To Abandon Him Near the Summit"** In a demonstration both of the harsh realities of mountaineering, and of the new trend towards “Tough Love” and mainstreaming the disabled, Team “What Goes Up Must Come Down’s” reported that they were forced to abandon young Eli Reimer near the summit of the tallest mountain in the world. “Look, kid, turn off that fucking Speak-and-Spell and let us get some sleep or your ass is out of this tent”, lead climber George Willis is reported to have said, shortly before another climber volunteered to take young Eli on a snipe hunt. The Reimer family could not be reached for comment, as they ere working on the press release that their daughter was the first person with no arms or legs to swim the English Channel, reaching almost five feet from shore. \* Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/38 "2013-04-01T13:39:07Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Yes, it was a 10 day hike, 70 miles uphill. But that’s all it was, a difficult uphill hike. No climbing, no scaling happening here. Was it really that much? According to [this,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everest_Base_Camp) climbers usually start at Lukla, at an elevation of 9300 feet. Base camp is about 17,600 feet, so that’s a climb of just 8300 feet. Assuming a trail grade of 8%, that’s a hike of about 20 miles. A healthy, well-acclimated adult can do that in three days with a moderately heavy pack. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/39 "2013-04-01T14:20:51Z")
That’s what the article said. I don’t actually know myself. ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452/40 "2013-04-01T16:04:16Z")
OP, So, it was not enough for him that he gets to have Down syndrome? He had to be all greedy and go on a vacation and shit, and to really rub it in he wore those cotton khakis , What nerve…the dad trying to help him accomplish something and taking pride in it? we all would feel alot better if he had stayed put in his special ed class [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/downs-syndrome-kid-climbs-everest-no-he-didnt-fark-you-people-magazine-and-daddy/654452.md?page=3)