Are Mt. Everest ‘Firsts’ Getting Out of Control?

Monday, May 31, 2010

As many of you are already aware, on May 22nd, 13-year-old Jordan Romero successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest, and in the process, became the youngest person to reach the top of the world.

Alan Arnette, an avid climber who has summited Mt. Everest on three occasions himself, publishes one of the best climbing/mountaineering websites on the internet. Arnette recently weighed in with his thoughts on Jordan and what he has just accomplished. It's an excellent article that provides some interesting perspectives on the story and the controversy surrounding Jordan due to his age.


Last year a 50-strong group of amateurs climbed to the 16,945-foot Gorak Shep plateau (just above the Everest Base Camp), in order to set the world record for the highest cricket match.

In a related story, Wend Magazine recently published an interesting article that asks the question:

Are Mount Everest ‘Firsts’ Getting Out of Control?

Based on the italicised quote above you can get a flavor for some of the ridiculous "Firsts" that are being attempted on the roof of the world in recent years. You can check this article out by clicking here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

1 comment

Harper Cosper said...

I never expected that a 13-year-old kid would be able to climb Mt. Everest. I guess age doesn't matter when it comes to climbing the tallest mountain on Earth.