Jordan Romero
Jordan Romero | |
---|---|
Born | Redlands, California, U.S.[1] | July 12, 1996
Occupation | Mountain climber |
Years active | 2006–present |
Known for | Youngest person to climb Mount Everest |
Jordan Romero (born July 12, 1996)[2] is an American mountaineer 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]
Upon climbing Vinson Massif in December 2011 at the age of 15 years, 5 months, 12 days, Romero became the youngest person in the world to complete the Seven Summits (highest mountains on each of the continents), a title previously held by George Atkinson. After this experience, Romero wrote a novel for children called No Summit Out of Sight.[5]
Mountains climbed
[edit]Noted summits Romero has climbed[6] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Summits | Country | Continent | Elevation ft | Elevation m |
July 2006 | Mount Kilimanjaro | Tanzania | Africa | 19,820 | 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 |
Romero is now trying to climb the highest point in each of the 50 US states.[citation needed][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
[edit]Romero grew up in Big Bear Lake, California, and currently resides in Portland, Oregon.[10][11] He was born to Paul Romero and Leigh Anne Drake.[11][12]
Historic climb
[edit]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
[edit]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 Nepal does not issue permits to people under 16 years of age, Romero and his team decided to climb from the Tibet side.[16] 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 who reach the top. [17]
Book
[edit]After Romero climbed Mount Everest, he and Katherine Blanc wrote a book The Boy Who Conquered Everest: The Jordan Romero Story.[18] At the end of 2014 Romero with Linda LeBlanc wrote another book No Summit out of Sight: The story of Jordan Romero .[7][19]
See also
[edit]- Matt Moniz, did 50 State Summits in 43 days with his father
- Malavath Purna, summited Mount Everest at age 13
- Tyler Armstrong, youngest person to climb Aconcagua in Argentina at the age of 9
References
[edit]- ^ "Jordan Romero: Mt. Everest's Youngest Climber". 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- ^ www.pitchengine.com Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "My Dream to Climb the 7 Summits". Jordan Romero Official Website. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "Teenage girl conquers Everest, 50 years on". The Observer. 25 May 2003. Retrieved 4 Feb 2011.
- ^ "Amerikaanse tiener beklimt zeven hoogste bergen". Novum. 25 December 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ^ "13-Year-Old Reaches Top of Mt. Everest". CBS News. 22 May 2010.
- ^ a b c The Acorn - Youngest climber of the Seven Summits to speak in T.O.
- ^ Lessons From Everest
- ^ a b c d Book Review of No Summit Out of Sight: Jordan Romero and the Climbing of the Eight Highest Mountains
- ^ a b Ferran, Lee (April 21, 2010). "Jordan Romero 13-Year-Old Climber Tackles Mount Everest". ABC News (GMA). Retrieved 29 May 2010.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b "Jordan Romero, 13, summits Everest: How young is too young?". The Christian Science Monitor. CSMonitor.com. 23 May 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "Big Bear Lake's Jordan Romero, 13, becomes youngest person to scale Mt. Everest". Los Angeles Times. May 21, 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
- ^ Barkham, Patrick (12 April 2010). "Should a teenager be climbing Mount Everest?". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ Goldberg, Alan; Schnee, Steve (3 June 2010). "Teen Climber: Too Young to Scale Mt. Everest?". ABC News. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
- ^ http://www.thebmc.co.uk/News.aspx?id=3747 New Chinese restrictions for Everest
- ^ Blanc, Katherine; Romero, Jordan (2010). The Boy Who Conquered Everest: The Jordan Romero Story. Balboa Press. ISBN 978-1401931179.
- ^ Romero, Jordan (6 May 2014). No Summit out of Sight. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781476709628.
External links
[edit]- 1996 births
- Living people
- American mountain climbers
- American summiters of Mount Everest
- Summiters of the Seven Summits
- American male writers
- Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California
- Writers from California
- People from Redlands, California
- Sportspeople from Salt Lake City
- People from Big Bear Lake, California
- Youth record holders