Jordan Romero was fascinated by a poster in his elementary school of the Seven Summits, the highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents. When he was nine years old, he announced to his parents that he wanted to climb the Seven Summits and he wanted to start training immediately. Jordan was familiar with what training involved; his father and stepmother were adventure racers. They traveled the world racing by foot, bike, canoe, kayak and even camel! After much discussion and consideration, his parents eventually gave their stamp of approval. On July 22, 2006 Jordan ascended his first summit - Mount Kilimanjaro at an elevation of 19,341 feet. He was ten years old and laid claim to a world record as the youngest documented climber to make the summit. He was thirteen years old on May 22, 2010 when he made the summit of Mt. Everest at 29,029 feet . This was also a world record. On December 24, 2011 at the age of fifteen, Jordan Romero became the youngest person ever to successfully climb the Seven Summits. This is his story.
What a motivational read! I will have to think twice next time I don't want to crawl out of bed at 6:30am to take a nice warm shower and then hop in my car to drive to my heated/air conditioned job. Jordan climbed out of tents at 4:00am at elevations of 18,000 feet to face gale force winds and temperatures of 40 degrees below zero. He hiked through two feet of new snow in whiteout conditions. He has experienced an avalanche first hand, tossed and turned and holding on to life by one single rope that he fervently hoped wouldn't break. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about his adventures, frustrations and joys as he relentlessly strove toward his goal. If you like true adventure stories, then give this book a try!