And it did. Wow.
A few months back, I wrote a quick entry on Jordan Romero, a 13-year-old boy who is on a mission to climb all of the Seven Summits. He had plans to summit Mt. Everest this month, May, and there was a lot of controversy surrounding his attempt. After all, Jordan is only a preteen, and his dad and stepmom are his climbing partners. Many critics questioned whether his attempt at Everest, and other mountains for that matter, were too dangerous for such a young kid. And even further, is Jordan old enough to make such large plans and decisions on his own? Or is he simply a young boy, acting on behalf of his father’s dreams and pressure? Both sides have been argued.
I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, cause as of a few hours ago today, Jordan has officially become the youngest person to ever summit Everest. Crazy, isn’t it? Men and women three times his age have died on that mountain, become injured, or lost close friends and family to the whims of the Everest gods. But Jordan did not face any of those traumas and called his mom from a satellite phone this morning. “Mom, I am calling you from the top of the world,” he said to her. Can you even imagine the immense amount of relief that must have settled on her shoulders with those words?
I still don’t know where I stand on the controversy. He did summit, so apparently, he was physically and mentally up for the challenge. After all, he did succeed. But does that mean that it was right? I’m still torn. Elevations such as those on Everest can really do damage to the human body and brain, an although I am definitely not a medical professional, I would assume that it can’t be good on a preteen whose body is still developing. But again, what do I know! And right now, I’m sure Jordan is not thinking of any of that…..hopefully, he back down at base camp, drinking a bunch of water, and heading into his tent for a looooooong and restful sleep 🙂
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