Youngest Person to Climb Mount Everest: The Latest Updates Till 2025

Have you ever wondered how old the youngest person to climb Mount Everest is? Let me tell you, it’s way less than one can imagine!

Conquering Everest isn’t child’s play; yet, many teenagers have attempted this daunting task. The most recent record holder for the youngest one to have summited Everest is a 13-year-old boy from the United States. It is indeed an utterly shocking fact to see that a person who cannot drive isn’t allowed to vote or legally sign a waiver has successfully summited the peak of the world.

Let’s review the blog to find more information on the youngest person to climb Mount Everest.

Youngest Person to Climb Mount Everest

Over time, since the highest peak of Everest was opened to the public, people of all ages have attempted to climb it. From 80-year-olds to teenagers, many attempted the summit, but only a few could succeed. Among them, the most notable young climbers are Jordan Romero, Malavath Purna, and Kaamya Karthikeyan, who gained media attention for their heroic journeys.

Jordan Romero: Youngest Male to Climb Everest

Jordan Romero is the youngest male to have set a world record by climbing Mount Everest at the age of 13. He dreamt of becoming the young person who summited all seven summits of the world, and her parents supported him.

This teenager’s motivation to attempt such heroic challenge dates back to when he came across the mural of world’s seven summit when he was in grade 4. He then told his dad that he wants to conquer all these peak in seven different continents when he was just nine years old.  By this time, even his parents were deeply shocked and barely knew about seven summits at all.

Yet, his parents supported his dream and trained him to be the youngest summiteer of the world. A thirteen year old boy isn’t capable to make all the mature decisions on the mountains himself.

With a similar thought, Jordan’s parents decided to assist their young boy on his journey to summit highest peaks in the world. They trained with him and covered all the bases of climbing mountain. Before aiming the Everest, Jordan had already climbed four other higher peaks in different continents.

His Everest Journey

Finally in 2010, Jordan set out in a journey to ascend Everest with his father and step-mother. Since people below 18 aren’t allowed to climb Everest from Nepal’s side, they chose to take on the difficult terrain through Tibet’s side.

The North Col route through Tibet is considered to be comparatively more challenging and a technical climb due to the steep ridges. Even though Jordan had climbed many high peaks above 6000 and 7000 meters, the challenges of Everest didn’t spare.

His father accompanied him along with his mother and experienced Sherpas who weren’t company recruited guides but well-season Sherpas, Ang Pasang, Lhakpa Tenjing and Dawa Tenzing. He met avalanches and snow storm that even buried his father while doing an acclimatization rotations between the high camps.

However, Jordan had trained in the extreme conditions to endure freezing winds and cold temperatures. Withstanding such extremities, he and his team set out from camp 4 at night on May 21, 2010. Taking all necessary precautions he followed his Sherpa’s advice to climb through the difficult sections like first, second, third, and final step one by one and finally made it to the top.

After enduring the freezing coltd and challenging weather, he ascended to the summit of Everest on May 22, 2010 and made the record that hasn’t been challenged till date.

Other Endeavors of Jordan Romero

Everest summit is definitely the record-breaking event but it isn’t his only achievement. Before Everest, he had climbed 5 more higher peaks in different continents including Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus, Mount Aconcagua, Mount Denali, and Mount Kosciuszko.

And even after facing backlashes after glorifying the Everest, Jordan didn’t give up on his Seven Summit dream. He continued to his next target, the 7th summit on his list. Finally on 2011, he summited Vinson Massif in Antarctica and fulfilled his dream.

Here’s a chart demonstrating his mighty endeavors:

Poorna Malvatha: Youngest Female to Climb Everest

Following Jordan Romero’s footsteps, an Indian girl made to the top of the word just a couple of years later. Poorna Malvatha is a simple girl from Telangana in India who dared this challenging journey as a social empowerment campaign to motivate youth in rural areas to pursue exceptional things.

She summited Everest on May 25, 2014 just at the age of 13 years and 11 months, just a few years elder than Jordan. This achievement made her the first youngest female climber on Everest. She also followed the same route as Jordan to pursue her dream.

What is the Age Limit to Climb Everest?

The age limit to climb Everest entirely depends on where you are starting your climb. If you are approaching the Everest from south side, i.e. Nepal’s side, you need to be at least 16 years old with new rules being implied.

Likewise, for climbing through the North side, i.e. Tibet’s side, you need to be 18 years old in the recent times. However, these rules weren’t prevalent before which is why all these young summiteers could conquer the mountain. Later on, her ascent story was made into a movie with a title: “Poorna: Courage has no limit”.

Other Climbing Records of Young Climbers

Apart from these 13 year old young people, there are few more teenagers who have made to the peak of the Everest before and after them. Some of these courageous climbers are listed below:

Future of Young Climbers on Mount Everest

It is pretty evident from the story of Jordan Romero and Poorna Malavath that it is possible for youngsters to climb Everest and return back safe enduring the hardships of the climb. However, the age limit rules implied by both the countries prevents young dreamers from achieving this goal.

While the concern for child safety is valid, it might be unjust to youth keen about mountaineering. There needs to be a moderation in the rule to inspire young people and also to keep mountaineering alive.

Brave your fear, conquer the mountains!