Jordon Romero, 13, summits Everest

[JessicaS]

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Globa...g-is-too-young

On Saturday, Jordan reached the summit with his dad, a paramedic, his dad's girlfriend, and three Nepalese sherpas. The young Californian has now climbed the tallest mountains on six of the world's seven continents. He summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at age 9.

Wow.

I don't know if I would be ok with that.

[AdinaL]

I am torn. I thought the 16 year old girl sailing around the world by herself was rad. But I have reservations about this. Maybe it is the extreme level of risk?

[mamadelbosque]

DH, myself and my dad all discussed this when we initially heard he was attempting it. I, personally, think its quite silly. I'm sure he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to do this - he's not some super great climber who has worked his way up to it, he's a super rich kid who has paid his way to the top of a half dozen mountain summits, cause' he thought it'd be 'cool'.

[talia rose]

i think its pretty cool - he is doing it partially to spread the word and inspire kids to get outside and take part in physical activities. also, i don't think you can buy your way to the top of a mountain. it is hard grueling work even if you are paying people to carry your stuff. after doing six or so of the tallest peaks I'm sure he is an accomplished hiker.

[Sarah W]

Originally Posted by AdinaL

I am torn. I thought the 16 year old girl sailing around the world by herself was rad. But I have reservations about this. Maybe it is the extreme level of risk?

Exactly. So many people fail at Everest and several die every year. I cannot imagine a child doing it. There's a point when you can't just "quit"...you have to come back down the mountain.

He did it and I'm happy for him. He's summited other areas, so it wasn't his first climb.

I'm not sure about him "buying" his way onto mountains. It's extremely expensive to summit Everest, no matter who you are. There a $25k fee for permission to summit (at least it was a couple years ago), plus contracting sherpas, gear, plus flights and accomodations. It gets really, really pricey. I have no doubt a trip would cost at a minimum of $50k.

And really, why else would anyone do it other than "they think it's cool"? Isn't that the basis of most hobbies? You can't tell me that he didn't train for it.

[Viola]

Darn, now Roland Smith is going to have to re-write Peak!

[aussiemum]

I've been following this young lad's story as well, & I think it is an amazing accomplishment for anyone to climb Mt. Everest. Yes, it can be dangerous, & I have reservations about supporting a 13 year old to tackle the 7 summits. But I do think that all the fuss is mostly because it's Everest he climbed this time & the media lurves Everest stories. I had a look at his website, & heck, he climbed Denali 2 years ago when he was 11! It could be argued that Denali is even more dangerous than Everest, due to it's latitude & technical routes.

[Kristine233]

Way to go kiddo! Heck, kids do dangerous stuff everyday at home at that age. Gangs, drugs, crime, or simply sit and do nothing playing video games. This kid is out doing something he thinks is cool and doing it with his dad. There could be far worse things. So I have to give him credit for it, I'm sure it wasn't easy and it also wasn't the first mountain he climbed.

[A&A]

Wow, amazing kid. I'm reading Into Thin Air and it states that approx. 20% of the climbers who attempt Everest die. Scary stuff!

[aussiemum]

Mortality rates in mountaineering are a funny thing. In a 'bad' season, the rates can be quite high. Other years you may find that no one dies. It all depends on weather changes, avalanche danger, preparation of the climbing party including equipment and experience, and sometimes just bad luck.

A recent BMJ review found that in the US, the mortality rate for mountaineering was 5 in 1000. In comparison, hang-gliding was 2 in 1000, and boxing was 4 in 10,000. Full article here. http://pmj.bmj.com/content/85/1004/316.full#T2

I thought it was interesting that simply trekking in the Himalayas has roughly the same mortality rate as participating in a marathon. And the authors point out that mountain-related mortality rates have fallen quite a bit in the last 20 years as safety precautions have improved. But then again, some people will always go for the summit even when their every instinct tells them to go back. In some cases that faulty decision making may be due to brain hypoxia, which was somewhat mitigated for in Jordan Romero's climb because all members of the party were using supplemental oxygen.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by mamadelbosque

I'm sure he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to do this - he's not some super great climber who has worked his way up to it, he's a super rich kid who has paid his way to the top of a half dozen mountain summits, cause' he thought it'd be 'cool'.

You still have to walk/climb to the top; it's not like you've paid for a helicopter ride. It's still more than I could do, regardless of how much money I had.