Recently, two teen record-holding climbers (one was 12 and the other 13) were killed in a small avalanche. 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.
Doing a quick search I found that it is not that uncommon for children to aim for the highest peaks, as this boy or this girl.
This article dives into legal details, but there seems to be two main legal opposite forces and no clear answer:
Courts have repeatedly recognized parents' Fourteenth Amendment rights to make decisions regarding their children's care without undue interference from the state.
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
while
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.
Question: Is there an "high altitude mountain climbing age" within the United States? Or at least, was there any political intention to clearly define a legal frame for this particular case?
I mean a minimum age a child is allowed to practice high altitude mountain climbing. This would be similar to smoking age, legal drinking age or age of consent.