The American boy Jordan Romero reached the top of the world today – summiting Mt. Everest with his father and supporting sherpas.
Climbing to 29,028 feet (8,847 meters) is a feat few have accomplished, and Jordan is by far the youngest to have ever reached the top of Everest.
He’s been climbing mountains for years (hard to believe since he’s only 13 years old!), but at age 9 he completed Mt. Kilimanjaro, and has now completed 6 of the 7 summits. In December he’s scheduled to attempt Vinson Massif in Antarctica.
Is he too young to climb such mountains? Is he succumbing to parental pressure to set world records? According to interviews, he wants to encourage more young people to get outdoors.
Regardless of whether or not he was too young to climb, or if his parents should have just let him be a kid, my hope is that he can be an inspiration to others and encourage people to conquer the own mountains they face in their lives. I am thrilled to know he is safe and accomplished his goal.
As the Zen Parable says, “When you get to the top of the mountain, keep climbing.”
Many, many congrats to Jordan for living his dream! It is an inspiration to us all to see kids out there doing things nobody thought they could do.
My 12 year-old sons are also reaching for their goal – to break the world record as the youngest people to cycle the entire Pan American Highway. So far, they have been on the road for 2 years and have cycled 13,000 miles. Only another 4000 miles to go!