Jordan Romero Summits Everest - Age 13
Rob Howard / 22.05.2010
The couple have just reached the summit of Everest, which is a remarkable achievement, but what is going to catch the attention of the World’s media in a big, big way, is that they reached the summit with 13 year old Jordan Romero. No, that is not a mistype. A 13 year old boy has just climbed to the summit of Everest.
Given that his mom and dad are AR superstars, a fair number of adventure racers have been following Jordan’s mountaineering adventures over the past couple of years. Those who have will know that he already has an impressive climbing pedigree, having decided, aged 10, that he wanted to climb to the highest points on every continent (the Seven Summits). With his successful Everest ascent he only has Mount Vinson in Antarctica left.
Not surprisingly there was a lot of criticism of Jordan’s Everest attempt. For a minor to try something so arduous, a task requiring the physical and mental resources beyond almost all adults, was seen as foolhardy, or worse. There have been (inevitably) charges his parents are pushing him to achieve their own ambitions or for their own gain. Anyone who knows Paul and Karen, or has seen how they work in a team, will know this is nonsense, though they do push the boundaries. Team Romero has taken no notice of the critics and continued with their methodical and meticulous training and planning.
I recall when I first met Paul at XPD in Portugal some years ago, he was telling me about Jordan, though this was before the 7 summits attempt began. (Both our sons are rock collectors and I’ve no doubt Jordan has pocketed a rock from as high on Everest as he could!) Like any father he was proud of his son, and those who have met Paul at major races around the world will know he has an exuberant and above all, a very positive personality. Jordan’s step-mother, Karen, isn’t quite so voluble, but is renowned for her determination, and with parents like that, young Jordan always had a head start in life, and it is not surprising he is a ‘high achiever’.
Jordan had to make his ascent from the Chinese side of Everest as there is an minimum age of 16 for permits to climb from the Nepalese side and he has beaten the ‘record’ for the youngest person ever to climb the mountain. This was previously held by a 16 year old Nepali climber.
He reached the summit on May 22nd, with his parents and 3 Sherpas, and called his mother from the summit. The attempt was tracked using a SPOT satellite tracker so watchers knew when he was on the summit, but this was later confirmed by another call from Paul, made from Camp 2.
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To find out more about Jordan and his 7 summits quest see www.jordanromero.com
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