Colorado dad criticized for letting 7-year-old scale Yosemite peak

Vicious internet trolls called Child Protective Services on a Colorado dad whose son set an incredible record by scaling Yosemite’s notorious El Capitan aged just seven.

Joe Evermore and his wife Ann have made a name for themselves by taking their young sons on daring climbing expeditions.

In May, Evermore’s son Joey Danger Evermore completed a climb of El Capitan, reportedly becoming the youngest person ever to accomplish the feat.

But while some social media users have celebrated the boy’s remarkable achievement, others have tried to get his kids taken away.

“There’s a lot of bullying that goes on online,” Joe told PEOPLE. He explained that some critics have gone as far as reporting him and his wife to Child Protective Services.

The family even received a letter from CPS stating that the agency had reviewed multiple complaints but decided not to pursue them.

“There’s people that think, ‘Hey, your kids would be better put in a foster system’ or put in front of a television, rather than training daily for an epic mission,” Evermore said.

But he argued many of the people criticizing his family’s adventures don’t know enough about climbing to fully understand the risks.

“They just don’t understand what’s dangerous and what’s not dangerous,” he said. “It’s kind of like someone who says, ‘How can you go on a plane? What if the wings fall off?’ It’s like, no, you’re not even thinking about the actual dangers of the sport.”

For example, he explained that he’s more concerned about objects falling on his son when he’s closer to the bottom of the cliff than when he’s higher up.

He’s also less worried about his son falling because “he’s bolted to the wall,” the experienced climber continued.

“Somebody just sees it, and they’re terrified and comment, ‘This is obviously too dangerous,’ ” Evermore said.

“I admit that there are risks, but I think the benefits far outweigh the risks. As a dad, I’m mitigating those risks with a team, with good preparation and with our own skill and our own training.”

Despite the criticism, Joe remains confident in his family’s approach to climbing.

“So far, we’ve executed it perfectly,” he added.

Joey’s epic climb began in late May when he was a six-year-old child and finished the climb six days later when he had turned seven.

It was a six-day feat, according to his father, where he and his family had to deal with wind storms, exposure to the elements, food and water rationing, exhaustion and fear of the 7,573ft landmark.

Much of the climbing techniques Joey had to navigate himself using ropes to slowly scale up El Capitan while attached to the wall during the entire climb.

Joey completed the climb alongside his older brothers, Sam Evermore and Sylvan Evermore, his father, and a documentary crew. The family is from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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