What I don't understand is why ban it? It should be a medical decision between a doctor and their patient. Why let the government decide what these folks need? It's not like this is being forced on anyone against medical recommendations. It's entirely elective so whether it's a mistake or a blessing for an individual it's their choice to make. Not mine, and certainly not the government's. Shoot this bill down. Do better.

I worry about hormone blockers leading to increased rates of cancer or other complications that messing with a natural chemical balance can have.

I’m all for everybody being happy. I wanted real tattoos at 9 and I’m glad my parents didn’t allow it. Power rangers tats are probably out of style these days. If it makes the kid happy and they don’t regret it, good.

These short studies don't surprise me or mean much personally. I've been prescribed steroids for skin conditions. They made me feel amazing. I wasn't tired after staying up 48hrs. Never felt better than when I was on steroids.

Should have put him on puberty blockers while he was retrofitted with wheels.

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Yeah the comments here are mostly from armchair experts.

My understanding was that pharmaceutical remedies for genderdysphoria was fairly uncommon and a "wait and see" with counseling was the preferred method before the recent push for gender affirming care.

Having spent a lot of time down this rabbit hole. My conclusion is that our children are suffering, but the broad net cast by the gender activists is not helping because I do not believe the proposed solutions are a one size fits all and the political rhetoric makes it hard to have real discussions to find a lasting solution.

If I worked in Portsmouth and had that much cash I'd live in Portsmouth. Traffic sucks. The less time you spend in it per day that happier you'll be.

I probably wouldn't do Lafayette or the Franconia Ridge as a first winter hike. There have been a few deaths up there recently from inexperienced/ill prepared hikers...

Look into Mount Pierce or Mount Jackson, both 4kers with nice views, both get above treeline but not excessive. They are solid first winter mountain hikes, as you can duck back into the shelter of treeline relatively easily if needed (if you didn't quite dial your gear right, or the weather turns).

You might also want to head over to r/wmnf for good tips.

As for breaking into mountaineering, agree with poster who suggested a guide or taking a mountaineering course.

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For your last question; I would take a mountaineering course or join a climbing gym and learn to climb, I recommend this as it would teach you valuable rope handling skills for your future endeavors.

Just a heads up, the whites seem to be chewing people up without remorse lately, what ever you do, don't be afraid to turn around, the mountain will be there tomorrow.

Good luck

It depends. Do you have whiteout navigation experience? If the answer’s no, then be very careful about the weather forecast. It’s doable, but you need to hit good weather. Also, just because the forecast doesn’t call for snow doesn’t mean there won’t be snow available for wind transport…pay attention to forecasted wind speeds. Have a backup plan. Most importantly remember the mountain will be there in the future.

Mount Washington Observatory publishes a daily Higher Summits Forecast.

Current transgender treatment is cross sex hormones which is a life time drug regiment. Why has there been no work in treating gender dysphoria with same sex hormones? Why are we trying to bend the body to the mind instead of bending the mind to the body? Same sex hormone treatment would be temporary and much less likely to cause irreversible long term damage. Unpopular idea, but if you look at this issue objectively this makes way more sense than the current path we are on. Unless there is more to this than the long term health of our children.

If we wanted to do more winter hiking before mountaineering would you recommend Lafayette?

“Reports”

ManBearPig!

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There’s quite a few guide services in the Mount Washington Valley that offer an intro to mountaineering as well as guided ascents of Mount Washington or some of the routes in Crawford Notch. Synnott Mountain Guides is run by a friend. Give them a try.

My point in bringing up age restrictions for tobacco/alcohol was more rooted in a freedom of choice comparison. Should.a 15 year old legally be able to buy a fifth of vodka? Should a 15 year old legally be able to transition? I understand your example regarding health reasons, it makes complete sense. When we are talking health, an obvious 'no' to the vodka example, and a 'yes' to the transition example.

That being said, why shouldn't this be a consistent freedom (choice) for young people? Why can't they make their own decisions regarding what they do or put into their bodies?

Anyways, thanks for your comment and respect. Like I said, just spit-balling here.

Lafayette is more of a hike than a mountaineering route. IMO you should do more winter hiking before you try mountaineering. That will give you time to dial in your basic clothing, equipment, and safety systems.

I hired a guide for my first course. After that I did meetups and met various partners through messages boards

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