Here are a couple of stories that might interest you as they did me.
One of my wife’s uncles has been to camp two more than once, but I don’t believe that he’s ever made it to the top of Everest. I can’t imagine how much dedication it must take and how much it must have hurt this 13 year old while training. I guess that kids are able to handle some things better than adults and maybe this is one of them. I really don’t know. What I do know is that even if this kid was pushed by his dad, it took some hard work to achieve. I mean look at how many people try over and over without ever making the peak. Wow. Congratulations!
Just how hard is it to climb Everest?
A minimum of 18 months to two years of training is a “feasible” amount of time to spend in preparation for the climb, he says. “No chance would I take a novice within a year and put them on Everest.”
The first step for an absolute beginner is to get the hang of walking with ice axes in hand and crampons on boots – sharp spikes which ease the perils of walking on ice. Mountaineering instructor Rob Johnson says even that can take a while. “They’re not heavy, but it’s a coordination thing.”
Youngest Everest climber hopes to inspire young people
American teenager Jordan Romero, 13, has just returned from the north side of the mountain.
He said he hoped other children would follow his example.
The teenager successfully made it to the top of the mountain on Saturday, accompanied by his father, stepmother and three Sherpa guides.
Looking sunburnt but healthy, Jordan Romero said it was a feeling like no other to stand on the summit of Mount Everest.
He said it was the hardest climb he had ever undertaken.