American youth beats seven continent mountaineering record

An American teenager has become the youngest person to climb the highest peaks on each of the world’s seven continents, when he reached the summit at Antarctica’s Mount Vinson on Saturday.

Jordan Romero became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest last year at age 13 AFP/Prakash Mathema

At 15, Jordan Romero completed the feat with a team that included his father and stepmother. The group arrived at the peak one day ahead of schedule.

Romero’s latest climb adds to a long list of mountaineering achievements. At age 13, he became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest, and at age 10, he was the youngest to reach Mount Kilimanjaro’s 5,895 metres, Africa’s highest peak.

He has also climbed Russia’s Caucasus mountains, Mount Aconcagua in Argentina and Indonesia’s Carstensz Pyramid.

Romero beat the previous record holder, George Atkinson from Britain, who last May completed the seven climbs at the age of 16.