UPDATE: Jordan does have a permit to climb from Tibet and is on his way to base camp in Tibet.
The spokesperson, Baburam Bhandari, in the referenced Xinhau article is from Nepal where the minimum age to climb Everest is 16. Mr. Bhandari would not have seen an application from Jordan because he is climbing in Tibet, not Nepal. China has no age limits. I will leave this post up because it may clarify the confusion as I am sure this story will spread which was posted on XinhuaNews.net
Please follow Jordan on his site at http://www.jordanromero.com/weblog/
11 thoughts on “Jordan Romero (updated)”
My son, Paul Romero, is with Jordan on this summit attempt and I am secure in knowing that Paul is a helicopter Paramedic, a trained rescue tech and trained high altitude medicine tech.
Jordan is good hands as is Karen.
“he takes the responsibility for his personal safety upon himself”
Herein lies the problem, he can’t take responsibility for himself. If something goes wrong, legally his father will be blamed. Like if he was on a boy scout trip and the leaders would be blamed or if he was at school and then the teachers would be blamed. He’s not actually old enough to make his own decisions legally.
I’m sure there’s plenty of 13 year olds who would join the military if they could, would you let them? Statistically, chances are they won’t die! And they’ve shot a gun before and they’re in good shape. And they’re really mature. So why not right?
Anyone who thinks Jordan is ‘mature’ enough to make this (potentially life or death) decision is basically saying that he should also be able to join the military, vote, see R rated movies, alcohol and cigarettes, play the lottery, drive a car, be charged as an adult for crimes and go to adult prison, decide whether he wants to go to school and get a full time job. So why don’t we open these options up to any 13 year old that we decide is mature enough?
Also, I believe I read the reason they’re going without guides is because no one would take them. They can’t get insurance for such a reckless action. You know, like if you tried to insure a 13 year old on a vehicle.
(Sorry if two similar posts show up, there was an error submitting the first one and I don’t know if it’ll go through).
Jordan Romero may only be 13, but this young man is taller and stronger than I am (and I have summited Mt. Everest from the north side in 1995). Both Jordan and his father Paul, just live a few blocks a way and have seen the routes on the north and are well prepared for the expedition. Wishing them the best from Big Bear Lake. To the top & back.
Yes, there are in Tingri which is a few days from BC. They report a few day acclimatization hikes to 15K. Sounds like they are on their way. There are regular posts on their site at http://www.jordanromero.com/weblog/
APRIL 14th UPDATE:
Team Jordan Romero is presently en route to the Chinese Base camp, so apparently all is well with regard to permits.
Alan- Thanks for reporting this unfortunate snag! I am currently working on a book about Jordan’s Seven Summit quest, so this is vital information for me. If possible, please keep this thread updated so I know what to tell the publisher, for goodness sake.
Climbing w/o a guide? Has his father or stepmother summitted Everest before? Doesn’t that seem weird for a 13-yr. old to be climbing Everest w/o a guide?
As a further note to my comment below, I looked up the minimum age to enter an ironman and you need to be 18 on race day. It’s worth remembering too that this is for an event where professional medical help is moments away (not days) and where your own physical condition won’t jepardize the safety of others.
I think that is sad Alan. Jordan has clearly shown his ability on the previous 6 summits, and he takes the responsibility for his personal safety upon himself, as does any Everest climber. There is nothing to suggest he would not be successful at a summit attempt. Because the Everest season is May and his birthday is July he will never be the youngest if Nepal and China stick to their rule. I hope for some leniency, but this is China.
Jordan is climbing from the northern side in China where there is no age bar, so he should be fine.
The news report by Xinhua quotes a Nepalese official where there is a rule that climbers have to be at least 16
Alan, I think it’s very sensible to enforce an age limit, although I would argue that it should be 18 and not 16. Climbing a big mountain requires a great deal of endurance and mental strength, and judging by other long distance sports such as ironman triathalon and road cycling, people don’t reach their potential until their late 20’s and early 30’s. Everest is risky enough, but to attempt it at less than half this age is placing a lot of additional risk on the individuals involved and other climbers, in the event that an accident occurs high on the mountain.
Paul Adler
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