In reply to birdman:
> I've run a world challenge expedition to Tanzania and i only saw the team for 3 hrs during the run up to the trip before the expedition departure day.
Nothing personal, but that's f%$king ridiculous practice for taking children, inexperienced, with no middle-filter or experience/selection criteria. This issue came up on UKC several years ago, but it was the guide complaining about the company making her do it. It's wrong.
> So who should take the responsibility for making the decision not to allow an individual to go?
Ideally the parents, but that seems too much ask nowadays. The schools can't be expected to know everything and are obviously outsourcing the service, so ultimately, given they have to deal with the immediate consequences on the ground, the company must have the ultimate say. Much like a ship's captain has the ultimate say in where the ship goes, and how, regardless of who chartered it or who is on board.
> Whilst i do think that the leader maybe should have had the ability to modify the route or make allowances or out right not allow the young lad to go on the trip, i do feel that there are other "agents" who could also have provided input that might have prevented the leader / exped company taking extreme measures.
Sure, but that seems an unrealistic expectation at the moment, so the company has to draw the line.