A 13-year-old boy attempts to climb Mount Everest
If Jordan Romero succeeds, he’ll become the youngest person to conquer the world’s highest mountain.Jordan will attempt the ascent to 29,035 feet with his father and his father’s girlfriend, both experienced outdoors people who have helped train the teenager for top-level mountaineering.
Despite his penchant for tall mountains and thin air, friends and family describe Jordan as unusually grounded for a 13-year-old. He said he understands the risks of climbing Everest, which kills climbers almost every year.”Mountain climbing requires a lot of mental training and making smart decisions. It’s a metaphor for life,” he said, sounding wiser than his years.
The teenager’s planned Everest ascent is making the mountaineering community think hard about how young is too young to climb such a dangerous mountain.
Romero and girlfriend Karen Lundgren are adventure racers, competing in weeklong endurance races that combine biking, climbing, paddling and climbing through wilderness areas around the world.
The trio’s Everest expedition is costing $150,000. Jordan, his father and Lundgren will be making the ascent with three sherpas.
Temperatures at the summit can plunge to 100 degrees below zero and hurricane-force winds blow much of the year. Atmospheric pressure at the peak is about a third that of sea-level, which can lead to breathing difficulties, mental sluggishness and other serious medical problems. Climbers usually use bottled oxygen.
The extreme cold, lack of oxygen, falls, exhaustion and avalanches have killed hundreds of climbers. Many of their bodies remain beside the trail.
Guides who have experience with Everest say Jordan will probably be safe, as long as he and his team pay close attention to how their bodies are reacting to the high altitude and low oxygen conditions near the peak.
Janow has turned down 14-year-olds who wanted to climb Kilimanjaro without their parents.”Jordan’s probably a better bet than some 68-year-old guy who’s only done two mountains,” he said. “These days it’s moving so fast, it’s a 10-year-old sailing around the world this year and an 8-year-old the next. What’s reasonable anymore?”
During the frenzy of packing, Jordan’s mother said she is bracing herself for two long months when the only news of her son will come from a blinking dot that represents his GPS device on a topographical map of Everest.”I’m on a roller coaster,” Drake said as her voice cracked with emotion. “From the second he leaves my arms until he’s back, it’s like I can’t breathe and I can’t cry. But at the same time, I’m so overjoyed that’s he’s getting the chance to do and see all of these amazing things.