Pre-School Mountaineering

Are you tougher than a Five-Year-Old?

From ABC News comes this story of a five-year old girl, Yunona Bukasov,  who’s hiked Mt. Whitney and Mt. Elbruz under her own power, and trekked in 21 national parks over the last year. And apparently, she likes it all just fine. No dragging here.

Some of these peaks and hikes are stout. Salt Lake’s Pfeifferhorn is a long round-trip with an airy summit. Mt. Timpanogos has a huge vertical gain. Whitney has some renowned stretches of switchbacks.  And hey, Mt. Elbruz can get harsh weather.

Of course, the media must weigh in with child and medical experts, hand-wringing about whether it’s all safe and responsible. That’s at least qualified questioning. Then the talking heads add their usual blather - which reads like they’ve inhaled too many hairspray fumes. Some comment boards resound with parental disapproval as well.

Us? We think it’s awesome! This is the difference between being human, and being bipedal barnyard livestock. Besides, Cheeto-stained keyboarding is potentially fatal, and Amber alerts don’t happen in the woods. 

So rock on Yunona! Hmmm, Mountaineer Barbie, haven’t seen that version yet.