And then he left her at the base of the cables to go get the stuff stashed at the face. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
I'm hoping Ella is into sport climbing until she's old enough to know better.
I just finish the book on the ascent of women in K2. I struggle with two mentality. One is selfish: I want to keep my daughter like we protect a cat that we own...and the second his also selfish: she is the perfect second, I can bring her where I want to go!!!
As I think as a father who want the best for a child...I will look at the evolution of the situation. What his her background in climbing. It is not really her first climb. She did a very hard route and, if you look at the photo, her father take shot at many places. She still look calm and happy. She wasn't in the position of an haulbag that there father tow to the top. As she know that she is able to do big think at twelve, and have a lot of possibility, is she going to think that she is able to do big think at school. I think so. Her father open her mind to a wonderfull futur. It can hae been in an other activity like scarving wood too. Manipulating the sharp knife is some thing that need a lot of dexterity. My father cut a vessel on his hand and went to the hospital as he was doing a job in our house. So, the danger is relative.
As I think as a father who want the best for a child...I must look at my limit. Some father have very short limit. The walk to the bottom of the half dome trail is about twenty minutes and going back the same. Bear...in winter....bear sleep in winter and there is no danger for her at all. So, if you do sport climbing, you don't have all that knowledge of the danger. In that story, his father led all the half dome in a day. It was there second try and the weather was really warm. His daughter talk about the danger of the climb and the father knew what to do to secure her in the traverse of the snow. The limit of the father was way bigger than the chalenge of the climb. As a father with limit knowledge, you never see solution, when to go back, when it is enought. A good father want to be the hero of his kid, but not at all price. A good father won't bring her daughter on some thing over his limit.
So, we have the upper limit, ability of the father, and the lower limit, capacity of the twelve year girl to learn from the experience. And a good father have to bring her daughter in some think between.
What about father who bring there daugther in some think to hard for her. As a guy climb 5.12 in a gym, 5.11 in sport and have to change the rating of diedral to 5.10 b to keep his ego at the same level, One can understand that there is a problem. Read the thread and you will spot those guy. In general, what they are scared to do his too dangerous to make for any body. They always cry about keeping the people at the bottom at the first wind and are looking for perfect condition. when an accident happen, they are happy: "you see, they never practice and when they want it so much that they try it in bad weather...they have an accident" Don't get out of the house...danger is every where.
Conclusion of that day...I will probably went to skate on the lake...,even if my woman told me that it have been more dangerous than the climb when I came back home.
