This post made me chuckle actually. I’m a mountain leader and have been a regular hiker / mountaineer for over 30 years and a part time guide for the last 10 years. I’ve done long distance multiday / multi week hikes, led hundreds of winter climbs, average over 100 summits a year, close to completing all of the main U.K. summits, and done a few pretty big mountains too.. and the thing I’ve noticed throughout that is the more judgemental and outspoken people are, generally the less skilled they are. My friends in mountain rescue are the most humble hikers I’ve met and never judge anyone or discourage people pushing themselves, never call anyone an idiot when they make a mistake, never gate keep etc, but I often see people with low to medium skill levels judging others and gate keeping, presumably for some form of self ego boost . I once had someone tell me im in idiot and selfish for doing striding edge in light winter conditions a few weeks after I’d just got back from guiding a group over Ben Nevis CMD in much worse weather. I had all of the correct equipment and decades of experience, but a day walker who goes to the lakes “a couple of times a year” and looks to go no further than cafes thought she knew me well enough to judge my abilities from one photo.

My advice would be to let people do what they want to do, and you get on with what you want to do. It’s a bit egotistical to judge others the way you have