Jordan Romero: Youngest Person To Climb The World’s Seven Summits
On December 24th 15-year-old Jordan Romero reached the summit of Mount.Vinson Massif, in Antarctica. We shared Jordan’s story prior to his departure for Mount. Vinson and since reaching the summit, Jordan is now the youngest person ever to climb all seven summits of the world.
At age nine, Jordan was inspired to climb all seven summits after seeing a painting in his school hallway. Six years later, Jordan has made that vision a reality. He started with Africa’s Kilimanjaro at age 10, followed by Europe’s Elbrus and South America’s Aconcagua – all world records. At age 11 he took on Denali in North America and Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania (another world record). At 13-years-old he summited Asia’s Everest, earning the world record, and finished up with Mount. Vinson. Of course there were a few other climbs thrown in for fun.
Jordan, his father Paul, step-mother Karen and guide, Scott Wollums, set off for their journey on December 12th and although Jordan admits to having a few butterflies on the day of the summit climb, he was able to make it to the top. The teen acknowledges that it was the support of a great team and great gear that helped make the climb a success, “I knew there was potential for big wind and very cold temperatures, probably colder than I’ve ever felt before. I knew my team was strong…” Jordan says of the conditions that the guide had estimated temperatures of -25°F (-31.6°C) but they had such great gear that it didn’t faze them, “we just had to put on our Canada Goose jackets and we were pretty toasty.”
The Romero family kept their fans up-to-date with a real-time GPS tracking tool that followed their progress on jordanromero.com, something that Jordan used as motivation throughout his trek. “I know they [family and friends] were watching our little dot on the map” Jordan explains. “I want to keep moving so they didn’t get worried. I had a pretty big drive to get to the summit and finish this goal of climbing the 7 summits.”
When Jordan reached the top, he didn’t want to leave. Of course there was some relief with achieving his goal of the youngest person to climb all seven of the world’s highest peaks but the view and his surroundings overcame him. “Imagine a 360 degree view of snow and ice and the most beautiful mountains in the world. I tried my best to just enjoy the moment and keep it in my memory forever.”
Of course, the Romero team had to celebrate. On the descent from Mount.Vinson, Jordan and the team skied down from low camp to base camp: “What is usually a 4 hour hike turned into a pretty cool 45 minute ski with a sled bouncing down behind me.”
When asked if Jordan had anything else to add, he praised not only his family and friends but Canada Goose and the products that were provided in order to keep his team safe from the harsh elements. “I had such confidence in every piece of my Canada Goose clothing that I wasn’t too worried. I had pieces for all conditions and every piece did its job perfectly.” Jordan continued with explaining that his father, Paul, had to lend his Tundra Down Pants to another climber from the Netherlands who didn’t have the right pants to get to the summit and “that guy was pretty happy.”
As for what’s next for this super-teen, the world will have to wait… at least for a bit. “First, I am going to take a little time and soak in this 7 summits victory. Then, we have a very big goal that we’d like to announce very soon. As soon as I have all the details I will announce it to the world.”
Jordan Romero’s Climbs So Far:
Kilimanjaro – Africa: July 22, 2006 (World Record at Age 10)
Kosciuszko – Australia: April 2007
Elbrus – Russia: July 11, 2007 (World Record at Age 10)
Aconcagua – South America: December 30, 2007 (World Record at Age 10)
Denali – North America: June 18, 2008 (Age 11)
Carstensz Pyramid – Oceania: September 1, 2009 (World Record at Age 11)
Mt. Everest – Asia: May 22, 2010 (World Record at Age 13)
Vinson Massif – Antarctica: December 24, 2011 (World Record at Age 15)
