Is there an &quot;high altitude mountain climbing age&quot; within the United States?
<p>Recently, two teen record-holding climbers (one was 12 and the other 13) <a href="https://www.agerpres.ro/english/2017/04/24/teen-record-holding-climber-dor-geta-popescu-fellow-mountain-aficionado-die-in-avalanche-18-16-20" rel="nofollow noreferrer">were killed in a small avalanche</a>. This led to heated debate in (social) media if it is legal to allow children to practice high altitude mountain climbing since their ability to understand the actual risk is arguable.</p>

<p>Doing a quick search I found that it is not that uncommon for children to aim for the highest peaks, as <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/2015/10/03/11-year-old-tyler-armstrong-preparing-to-conquer-mount-everest-the-worlds-tallest-mountain/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this boy</a> or <a href="http://people.com/celebrity/indian-girl-13-becomes-the-youngest-person-to-climb-mount-everest/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this girl</a>.</p>

<p><a href="http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2015/05/is-it-illegal-for-kids-to-do-extreme-sports.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">This article</a> dives into legal details, but there seems to be two main legal opposite forces and no clear answer: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Courts have repeatedly recognized parents' Fourteenth Amendment
  rights to make decisions regarding their children's care without undue
  interference from the state.</p>
  
  <p>Parents have the right to consent or object to their children's
  medical treatments. Parents have a right to decide whether their kids
  attend public or private school. Parents have a right to discipline
  their children</p>
</blockquote>

<p>while</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Parents' right to make child rearing decisions are limited by a
  states' child abuse and child endangerment laws. While the laws may
  vary, most states criminalize child endangerment.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Question:</strong> <strong>Is there an "high altitude mountain climbing age" within the United States?</strong> Or at least, was there any political intention to clearly define a legal frame for this particular case?</p>

<p>I mean a minimum age a child is allowed to practice high altitude mountain climbing. This would be similar to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_age" rel="nofollow noreferrer">smoking age</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age" rel="nofollow noreferrer">legal drinking age</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_consent" rel="nofollow noreferrer">age of consent</a>.</p>

<h2>In General: No</h2>

<p>There is no federal law and, as far as I can tell, no state law which sets an across-the-board minimum age on mountaineering or climbing. I based this on searching through the statutes of several states with mountains, as well as the web pages for some parks.</p>

<p>Many states' park services had wording like this (taken from the <a href="https://coloradosprings.gov/rock-climbing" rel="noreferrer">Colorado Springs</a> webpage):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Although there are not age limitations for rock climbing, all climbers including children must register.</p>
  
  <p>Climbing is an inherently dangerous activity. Technical Climbing is at your own risk. The City of Colorado Springs does not install, inspect, nor maintain the fixed protection devices.Your safety is your own responsibility.</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Specific Example</h2>

<p>However, in some specific cases, governments have set age limits. Here is one such example:</p>

<ul>
<li><strong>Mount Rainer: 18</strong>.  Mount Rainer is a national park located in Washington state. The National Parks Service requires anyone attempting to climb Mount Rainer to be at least 18 (<a href="https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/climbing.htm" rel="noreferrer">source</a>).</li>
</ul>

united-states minor