Everest for KiDs

If you are a parent, capsule sometimes you get that question you can’t answer like “why is the sky blue” or “what is a 64 Chevy that dad talks about” or “ How hard is it to climb mountains?”

In that spirit, I created a slide show designed for parents to read with their children about my climb of Mt. Everest in 2002. I simply call it Everest for KiDs

It has pictures and a brief paragraph explaining each section of the climb. Written with input from 6 year-old’s parents and educators, it is written at a very simple level with questions for the kids.

Today that slide show has gained worldwide attention and is used by teachers to explain geography, civics and many other topics.

I recently added a child friendly page entitled Everest Facts for KiDs that is also popular.

So as I climb Everest this year, I hope these tools will be useful to share with your children where I am and how I am doing.

As a spoiler, I did not summit in 2002 after stopping around the Balcony at 27,300’. As a parent you can use my experience to reinforce any principle you like.

Also, it would be an excellent opportunity to talk about aging with your kids, especially if you have Alzheimer’s in your family. While mostly thought of as an old person’s disease, the impact on teenagers and children is widely underestimated. Kids often have the responsibility to look after a grandparent when they come home from school so that their parent can run errands or just take a break. Yes, this disease has widespread impacts that go unnoticed.

I am especially gratified that there are several school rooms following me this year and are donating their spare pennies (literally) in a glass jar each day so that a parent can make a donation to one of our causes.

Finally, I am pleased to be carrying Flat Stanley with me – a popular education tool itself. I am sure he will bring me good luck. After all, the 2nd graders who loaned him to me would never forgive me if I don’t get him to the summit and back!

Climb On!
Alan