Jordan Romero

Jordan Romero (born July 12, 1996)[2] is an American mountain climber who was 13 years old when he reached the summit of Mount Everest. Romero was accompanied by his father, Paul Romero, his step-mother, Karen Lundgren, and three Sherpas, Ang Pasang Sherpa, Lama Dawa Sherpa, and Lama Karma Sherpa.[3] The previous record for youngest to climb Everest was held by Ming Kipa of Nepal who was 15 years old when she reached the summit on May 22, 2003. [4]

Jordan Romero
Born (1996-06-12) June 12, 1996
Redlands, California, U.S.[1]
NationalityUS
OccupationMountain climber
Years active2006–present
Parent(s)
  • Leigh Anne-Drake (Mother)
  • Paul Romero (Father)
  • Karen Lundgren (Step-mother)

Upon successfully hiking the Vinson Massif in December 2011 at the age of 15 years, 5 months, 12 days, Romero became the youngest climber in the world to complete the Seven Summits, a title previously held by George Atkinson. After this experience, Romero wrote a novel for children called "No Summit Out Of Sight".[5]

Everest as viewed from Nepal

Mountains climbed
Noted summits Romero has climbed[6]
Year Summits Country Continent Elevation ft Elevation m
July 2006 Mount Kilimanjaro Tanzania Africa 19,340 5,892
April 2007 Mount Kosciuszko Australia Australia 7,310 2,228
July 2007 Mount Elbrus Russia Europe 18,510 5,642
December 2007 Aconcagua Argentina South America 22,841 6,962
June 2008 Denali United States (Alaska) North America 20,320 6,194
September 2009 Mount Carstensz Pyramid Indonesia Asia 16,024 4,884
May 2010 Mount Everest Nepal - China Asia 29,029 8,848
December 2011 Vinson Massif N/A Antarctica 16,050 4,892
State high points are shown as red circles. Low points are shown with green squares, except in states whose lowest elevation spans coastlines or lake shores (the Great Lakes or Lake Champlain).(See also List of U.S. states by elevation)

Romero is now trying to climb the highest point in each of the 50 US states.[7] He had already climbed Denali in June 2008.[7] (see also Peak bagging (Climbing list))

The "50 US States Summits" Romero has climbed
Year Summits State Elevation ft Elevation m Notes
June 2008 Denali Alaska 20,320 6,194 [8]
August 2012 Kings Peak Utah 13,286 4,123 [9]
2012 Mount Mansfield Vermont 4,393 1,338.99 [9]
2012 Mount Washington New Hampshire 6,288 1,916.58 [9]
2012 Mount Katahdin Maine 5,269 1,605.99 [9]

Personal life

Romero grew up in Big Bear Lake, California, and currently resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.[10][11] He was born to Paul Romero and Leigh Anne Drake.[11][12]

Historic climb
Main articles: Mountaineering and Glossary of climbing terms

Prior to climbing Everest, Romero had already climbed five of the seven highest peaks in the world in his desire to scale the tallest peaks on the seven continents (counting two for Oceania). He finished the seven summits with Mount Vinson in Antarctica at age 15.[13] Before climbing Everest, Romero's highest peak was Aconcagua, 6,962 m (22,841 ft) in elevation.[13] His group chose a northern route out of Tibet and carried a GPS tracking device and satellite phone.[11][12][14] Along the way to the top, Romero conducted an interview from an intermediate base camp 18,700 feet above sea level.[10] Upon reaching Mount Everest's summit, a Skype interview was accomplished[11] and Romero also called his mother, who had been following the climb on a map which included GPS coordinates, pictures and video.

Criticism

Before he climbed Mount Everest, there was some criticism over whether a 13-year-old boy should be allowed to attempt this. David Hillebrandt, medical adviser to the British Mountaineering Council, questioned whether Romero was mentally mature enough and then went on to say, "It is totally against the spirit of true mountaineering. This sounds like it's about mass marketing, money and it's verging on child abuse. Nowadays, people are effectively being winched up (the mountains), using ropes that Sherpas have put in for them. It will all be done for him (Romero). He's a token passenger."[15] Because of the concerns of climbing through the unpredictable Khumbu Icefall on the Nepal route, Romero and his team decided to climb from the Tibet side. On June 10, 2010, the Lhasa-based Chinese Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA), the official channel through which climbers must apply for permission to attempt peaks in Tibet, announced future age restrictions for all those attempting Everest from the north.[16]

Book

After Romero climbed Mount Everest he and Katherine Blanc wrote a book The Boy Who Conquered Everest: The Jordan Romero Story.[17] At the end of 2014 Romero with Linda LeBlanc wrote another book No Summit out of Sight: The True Story of the Youngest Person to Climb the Seven Summits.[7][18]

See also

References
  1. "Jordan Romero: Mt. Everest's Youngest Climber". 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  2. www.pitchengine.com Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "My Dream to Climb the 7 Summits". Jordan Romero Official Website. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  4. "Teenage girl conquers Everest, 50 years on". The Observer. 25 May 2003. Retrieved 4 Feb 2011.
  5. "Amerikaanse tiener beklimt zeven hoogste bergen". Novum. 25 December 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  7. The Acorn - Youngest climber of the Seven Summits to speak in T.O.
  8. Lessons From Everest
  9. Book Review of No Summit Out of Sight: Jordan Romero and the Climbing of the Eight Highest Mountains
  10. Ferran, Lee (April 21, 2010). "Jordan Romero 13-Year-Old Climber Tackles Mount Everest". ABC News (GMA). Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  11. Sandstrom, Catherine (May 25, 2010). "Jordan Romero Says of Everest: "It Was Totally Worth It"; Jordan, Paul and Karen Begin the Journey Back to Big Bear". Big Bear News KBHR 93.3. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  12. "Jordan Romero, 13, summits Everest: How young is too young?". The Christian Science Monitor. CSMonitor.com. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  13. Gaskell, Gaskell (April 12, 2010). "13-year-old Jordan Romero sets out to become youngest climber to scale Mount Everest". Daily News. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  14. "Big Bear Lake's Jordan Romero, 13, becomes youngest person to scale Mt. Everest". Los Angeles Times. May 21, 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  15. Barkham, Patrick (12 April 2010). "Should a teenager be climbing Mount Everest?". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  16. http://www.thebmc.co.uk/News.aspx?id=3747 New Chinese restrictions for Everest
  17. "The Boy Who Conquered Everest: The Jordan Romero Story".
  18. "No Summit out of Sight".
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