Newsy: 13-Year-Old Climbs Mount Everest

13 year-old Jordan Romero of California became the youngest climber to reach the top of Mt. Everest. Some in the media are asking the question: how young is too young?

Jordan Romero: "I just wanted to do something big and this was something I wanted to do for myself and it was just all about the…and it’s just all about the experience." (Sky News Australia)

That was 13-year-old Jordan Romero from California after he became the youngest person to reach the top of Mt. Everest. Other climbers, including his father who made trip with him, tell CTV, his age was an advantage.

Paul Romero: "This is all his mission, this was all his idea. It’s all his timeline. We’re just packing the bags and chasing him around the world."

Phill Michael: "He’s fortunate that he’s young like that because probably most of his time is spent thinking about what he needs to do in order to get physically and mentally prepared for something like that." 

The Christian Science Monitor says Romero’s determination helped him overcome obstacles he faced to conquer his ultimate goal, to climb all of the Seven Summits: “The Nepalese government would not give the family permission to climb Everest from Nepal, citing Jordan’s age. To make the ascent, Jordan’s team went from the Chinese side, a more difficult approach, but there is no age restriction.”

Others on HLN, say he may have been too young to climb Everest - and other dangerous peaks like Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Ray D’Alessio: “What do you think? Is thirteen-years-old too young to climb Mt. Everest, or heck, any mountain range for that matter?” “Forty-five percent of you say he is too young while fifty-five percent say, Let the kid climb!” “What ever happened to, Disney World, maybe the beach?” 

Robin Meade:…“Mowing some lawns for some basic money?”

D’Alessio: “Absolutely! You know, anything but this!”

Blogs on The Dallas Morning News, The New York Times and Babble all question the role of parents in allowing kids to go on such quests.

“Don’t parents have a responsibility to say, no?”

“Parents, where do you draw the lines?”

“At 13, is he physically and mentally mature enough to risk his life in this way?”

So what do you think? Is Everest too dangerous for a thirteen-year-old? Or do you celebrate the kid’s guts and glory?

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