I think there is a place for mentoring in outdoor pursuits.

I feel self sufficiency is an extremely important skill set to possess no doubt but you can definitely pick up stuff by spending time with a more experienced person. I was a scouter for seven years and that was the main basis behind working with the kids.

It's also how skills are passed along once you have taken basic scuba courses. Informal mentoring and sharing of ideas. I spend time with a very good bike mechanic to pick up tips and tricksand have even paid his shop rate to get him to show me certain repairs.

But it doesn't always work. Ive been trying to teach my wife to clean as she cooks but so far she has resisted all efforts for 29 years. When I cook there are one or two pots left; when she cooks it's shades of Hiroshima