On top of the world: Teenager, 15, becomes youngest ever to climb the tallest peaks on each continent… and his last one was in
Antarctica
A Southern California teenager became the youngest person to successfully climb to the summit of the seven tallest mountains on Earth’s seven continents, according to his website.
Jordan Romero, 15, called his mother Leigh Ann Drake on Saturday to confirm that he’d achieved his goal of reaching the top of Mt. Vinson Massif in Antarctica.
The Big Bear, California-native beat the record previously held by British climber George Atkinson, who completed the ascents at age 16 in May.
He’s done it: Jordan Romero, 15, can’t even drive a car, but he has climbed the highest peak on each of the seven continents, reaching the last on Christmas Eve
Mr Romero’s team began the climb Wednesday. Romero’s Facebook page, ‘Find Your Everest,’ marked reaching the summit, but the climb is hardly over.
‘It’s in the books. The kid and team summit with all fingers and toes. Descent still to come then we celebrate,’ a post to the Facebook page read.
Mr Romero completes his climbs with his father and stepmother.
‘It’s my dream we are following to the highest points on every continent,’ Jordan says on his blog.
‘I know it’s a big goal and lucky for me my family is supporting me every step of the way.’
At age 10, Romero climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, and at age 13 he climbed the world’s highest mountain, at 29,035 feet, Mt. Everest in Asia.
Mrs Drake declined further comment, saying the family is not seeking attention for the boy’s achievement.
The Seven Summits are a holy grail for mountain climbers — the seven tallest and most dangerous mountaintops in each of the seven continents.
They are: Mt. Everest in the Himalaya Mountains of Nepal and China; Mt. Aconcagua in the Andes Mountains of Argentina, elevation 22,841 feet; Mount McKinley in the Alaska Range, elevation 20,320 feet; Mt Kilimanjaro in the Kilimanjaro Mountains of Tanzania, elevation 19,340; Mt. Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains of Russia, elevation 18,510; the aforementioned Mt. Vinson Massif in the Ellsworth Mountains of Antarctica, elevation 16,050 feet; and the Carstensz Pyramid in the Maoke Mountains of Indonesia, elevation 16,024.
Mr Romero also climbed the comparatively puny Mt. Kosciuszko in the Great Dividing Range of Australia, elevation 7,310, for good measure.
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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER