Well, now it’s on.
Be prepared for parental accounts of the first child to trek the base camps of the highest mountains of each continent (The Seven, errrr Base Camps). And then the first kid to trek to the base camps of all of the 8K+ mountains.
Agree. That’s the worst part about this fiasco that the media (and possibly the dad) has foisted on the innocent kid.
If by “yawning smilie” you mean “bottle of Old Crow,” I think you can stick a feather in your hat. Or two. Or six.
kambuckta,
agree with you, that s*** is inexcusable
on a sidenote, regarding the nature of the op, if a person has their panties in a knot because someone did something positive, instead of being jealous and bitter, they should just try to do something good too (if they are capable to do so) so they dont have to stew in a mire of bitter envy and jealousy
As this was a charity thing, I would imagine his team paid their own way and were basically tagging along. Hiking to base camp is a pretty cool (and not exceptionally expensive- the price I quoted was on the highest end) vacation. Beyond the physical challenge and natural beauty, you spend a lot of time in villages meeting people and experiencing a really cool, really unique culture only found in this this remote chunk of the world. Doing this as part of a team with a cause is a neat bonus.
I think I was in jeans. But one of my favorite pics from the trip is of a Chinese woman hanging around base camp in heels. You can’t pry the heels off some people’s feet!
The Nepal base camp is a different game, of course. You have to do a multi-day hike through a remote area, hauling your supplies. In China, you can basically drive up and take a short stroll to the base camp itself.
Got pics? 
Bolding mine. I am so making this my sig line.
Snow Pea
“Deprived of my rightful eyeroll”
Good point; I mentioned it earlier in my initial reply.
Note that I added “behind his back.” Like we’re doing now. You’re right that you don’t openly mock any accomplishment of the disabled. But if the kid gets the idea that he has scaled Mount Everest, I think he is in for ridicule behind his back, and that’s unfortunate.
At minimum, these sorts of exaggerations are more likely to precipitate recreational patronization instead of any genuine admiration. “You are simply amazing!” Pat pat pat.
Understatement has ever been the way adventure stories–and climbers in particular–have made an impact. Even for a kid with Down syndrome, “Yeah; I trudged up to Everest Base Camp once” 
leaves a bigger impression than, “I climbed Mount Everest!” :rolleyes:
If you only have one eye, is it still effective to roll it?
I ran the LA Marathon once, although I actually walked a good part of it (my back tightened up at about mile 16, so I had to run/walk the rest of the way). I still tell people I ran the marathon. I really don’t care what other people’s opinions on the veracity of that statement is or not. Hopefully the kid doesn’t give two shits about what others think as well, what he got out of it is all that hopefully matters to him.
But you did cross the finish line. You reached the summit.
Agree. He went the distance - I would definitely consider that a legitimate marathon completion.
You never go full Down on Scarlett Johansson.
Maybe this thread is not the place for it, but Everest has been the scene of some pretty weird records. When will we see the FIRST dead man to summit Everest?:eek:
You don’t care if people find out that you exaggerated an accomplishment to make yourself look better? 
Isn’t there a time limit to marathons? If you cross within that you haven’t exaggerated unless you misrepresent your placement.
I imagine there is some sort of time limit, but I don’t consider it to be running a marathon if someone walked a good portion of it. “I ran the LA marathon” sounds far more impressive than “I did the LA marathon”.
If people find out? I tell them myself. I don’t care what they think of my accomplishment or if I say I ran it. If it such a big deal to them that I don’t use the word run then I can do without them.
Not what you said in the OP. Bolding mine:
I’m not convinced he’ll be ridiculed behind his back. That would almost be an improvement. People love stories like this, or that bit of lore about the Special Olympians linking arms and finishing the race together, because people want to believe the handicapped - especially the mentally handicapped - are made of better stuff than the rest of us.
People won’t dare mock him, except maybe with their nearest and dearest. There’s only one socially acceptable reaction to a story like this - “Awww”. Only a big meanie would even think something like “So?” or, gawd forbid, “Eww…”
Probably not, but I don’t let that stop me.
Hello.