16-year old Brit George Atkinson is preparing to go to Everest this spring where a successful summit will earn him a spot in the record books. George is hoping to become the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits, and the 8850 meter (29,029 ft) Everest is all that stand between him and that goal.
According to this story from the BBC, Atkinson just finished up his climb of Vinson in Antarctica, and if he conquers Everest before the 29th of May, a likely scenario if he does reach the summit at all, he’ll be the first person to complete the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents, before the age of 17.
Of course, this all brings into focus, once again, the debate about the age of climbers on Everest. Last year, after Jordan Romero climbed the mountain at the age of 13, both China and Nepal instituted age limitations for taking on the tallest peak in the world. The Chinese set the limit at 18, but said they would consider going as low as 16 if circumstances dictated. In Nepal, the age limit was set at 16 as well, which means George has his choice of which side he’d like to climb from, although Nepal’s South Side seems the most likely location.
Atkinson turns 17 on May 29th, so he’ll likely be just shy of his birthday when he goes to the top. His record will probably relatively short lived however, as Romero is scheduled to go to Antarctica in November, where he’ll probably finish off his Seven Summits by topping out on Vinson. He’ll be 15 at that time.
Thanks to my friend Alan Curr for sending this story my way.
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It's great to see BBC think Kili is in Kenya…
LOL! Thought that too. Bastion of journalism!
George left for Everest last Saturday. He is very excited and keen to give it his best shot.
We are very proud of him. We will worry about him all the time he is away but nothing would have kept him at home. He is completely driven to complete this challenge.
Follow his progress on his blog ad post supporting comments at http://www.george-seven-summits.blogspot.com/
or see the Adventure Peaks website
George's mum
Thanks Mum! I'll add George's blog to my round-ups and keep an eye on his progress. Best of luck to him, and to you. I'm sure it'll be tough watching from afar. 🙂
It's interesting to see these young adventurers cropping up. I just finished a book called Unsinkable, about 16-year old Abby Sunderland's solo attempt to sail around the world and her shipwreck in the Indian Ocean. Here's a link:http://dld.bz/YRZE
Now sailing solo round the world that's really something.
I was petrified recently on a two crossing from arisaig to Isle of Rum in heavy seas in a small boat. Imagine being alone in the Southern Ocean in a yacht and only sixteen- years-old with no one to help you when things get tricky.
I'm writing a blog about my adventures in Puerto Rico! do you think you could link to me please?