DAD RESPONDS TO FOLLOWERS WHO REPORT HIM TO CPS FOR BRINGING SON ON CLIMB OF EL CAPITAN

PEOPLE

 

Dad Responds to Followers Who Report Him to CPS for Bringing 7-Year-Old Son on Daring Climb of El Capitan (Exclusive)

By Luke Chinman  Published on October 5, 2026 09:00AM EDT

 

Joe Evermore knows not everyone agrees with his parenting style.

 

He and his wife, Ann, have made a name for themselves online for sharing their family’s impressive climbs — including El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, the largest granite cliff in the world, which their 7-year-old son completed in May, making him the youngest person to ever accomplish such a feat. But in posts celebrating the achievement, many in the comments take issue with the risk involved in taking on such a climb with young children.

 

“There’s a lot of bullying that goes on online,” Joe tells PEOPLE.

 

He says that commenters online have even gone so far as to call Child Protective Services on him and his wife, to the point where they received a letter from CPS saying that they’ve had to review multiple complaints but declined 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,” Joe says.

 

But Joe maintains that many of the people who flood his comments section with concern do not have a strong enough background in climbing to understand the nuances of his expeditions.

 

“They just don’t understand what’s dangerous and what’s not dangerous,” he tells PEOPLE. “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 instance, Joe is far less worried about his son falling off the cliff face — “he’s bolted to the wall,” he says — and much more concerned about something falling on them from above. By that logic, Joe believes the climb is much safer the closer you get to the top of the mountain, which most commenters would never realize.

 

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

 

He adds: “So far, we’ve executed it perfectly.”