Jordan Romero - No Summit out of Sight. The True Story of the Youngest Person to Climb the Seven Summits

ALSO BY JORDAN ROMERO

The Boy Who Conquered Everest: The Jordan Romero Story

At the age of thirteen JORDAN ROMERO became the youngest person to climb Mount Everest. At the age of fifteen he became the youngest person to climb the tallest mountain on each continent. He is now in the process of climbing the highest peak in each of the fifty states as part of his Find Your Everest tour, in which he talks to kids, families, and communities, spreading the message of getting outdoors, being healthy, doing things as a family, and setting goals. He lives in Big Bear Lake, California.

LINDA LEBLANC has always been fascinated by mountains and other cultures. She has traveled to thirty-seven countries on six continents. In her book Beyond the Summit she told the story of the Sherpas who make summiting Everest possible. She also helped the Sherpas establish the first hutto- hut system in Nepal. She later formed a travel company and led groups to the Everest base camp, India, and Thailand. With a BA in English and a masters in library science, Linda combines her love of writing and research to take readers on journeys to places they might never otherwise visit.

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Text copyright 2014 by Jordan Romero, Paul Romero, and Karen Lundgren

Jacket photograph copyright 2009 by Karen Lundgren

Hand lettering by Darren Booth/darrenbooth.com

Map illustration by Drew Willis

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Jacket design by Chlo Foglia

Interior design by Hilary Zarycky

The text for this book is set in Electra.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Romero, Jordan, 1996

No summit out of sight : the true story of the youngest person to climb the seven summits / Jordan Romero with Linda LeBlanc. First Edition.

pages cm

Summary: The story of Jordan Romero, who at the age of 13 became the youngest person ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest. At age 15, he reached the summits of the worlds 7 highest mountainsProvided by publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4767-0962-8 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-4767-0963-5 (eBook)

1. Romero, Jordan, 1996Juvenile literature. 2. MountaineersUnited StatesBiographyJuvenile literature. 3. MountaineeringJuvenile literature. I. Title.

GV199.92.R66A3 2014

796.522092dc23

[B]

2013031296

To every person young and old who strives to Find Your Everest

This book is dedicated to every person who supported me throughout the years and made my dream come true. If you bought a T-shirt, a taco, or a movie ticket, donated to the website, cheered me on, followed the red dot to the last two summits, or sent an encouraging e-mail, you know who you are and you have my sincerest gratitude.

To my family who supported me every step of the way, I love you from the bottom of my heart. To my dad, who didnt say no from the beginning, I love you and thank you for everything youve done for me. To Karen, who made everything happen and helped me with my math homework up at 21,000 feet, I love you like a mom of my own and cannot express enough gratitude for everything youve done for me. To my mom and my little sister, Makaela, who cheered me on all the way from home when I was missing you the most, I love you both.

A special thanks to Linda LeBlanc, the real writer of this book; I feel lucky to have had this opportunity to get to know you while putting this all together. This book would not exist without you.

I also want to acknowledge and thank the following people, who all played an important role in the success of this project: Thank you to Grandpa Alex Romero, Grandpa Robert Drake, Ang Pasang Sherpa and the Everest team, Samuel Kusamba, Terry Torok, Glenn Staack, Rob Bailey, Allan Laframboise and ESRI, Mike Baker, Katherine Blanc, Cathy Mills, King Richard, Steve Renecker, Neal Drake, the many sponsors and partners who joined our team, and the community of Big Bear.

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Jordan

April 26, 2010Mount Everest

I heard only my labored breathing and the crunch of my crampons biting into snow as I traversed a nearly vertical slope on the north face of Mount Everest. Below us the slope continued steeper and steeper until it spilled over into a bottomless cliff, but I was securely attached to a safety line that was anchored to the mountain. My stepmother, Karen, and our Sherpa guides, Ang Pasang and Karma, were ahead of me; my father, Paul, just behind. The weather was perfect, with clear blue sky everywhere I looked. It was a beautiful day for climbing.

I took one step, then another. Suddenly a thunderous roar ripped through the air. The earth rumbled and shifted beneath my feet.

I looked up and saw a ten-story wall of ice and snow break free from the mountain and explode into an enormous cloud of white that hurtled downward, building higher and higher as it gained speed. Snow dust billowed in the air.

The avalanche was coming straight at me.

My mind froze, paralyzed with fear. I couldnt think, couldnt react fast enough.

Snow and ice sliced through what had been our trail.

Freezing air burned my throat all the way to my lungs.

The wave slammed into me and sucked me under. Everything was white, whirling around me, tossing me. I was tumbling out of control and couldnt breathe. Where was the sky, the earth? I kicked desperately, trying to sink my crampons into snow, ice, anything to keep from sliding toward the deadly cliff.

I tried to scream but no sound left my lips.

I was still clipped in to the safety line that kept me anchored to the mountain. With a jolt that ran through my body, the rope snapped and zipped past my head. Would the rest of the rope hold me in place or yank me away?

I clung to what was left of the line as a second wave of falling snow and ice swept me toward the bottomless cliff. Dad! I screamed. Had I lost him? Where were Karen and the others?

The thunderous roar died down, replaced by a cold, whipping wind. The ground finally stopped moving as the ice and snow began to settle on the mountainside. I sank my crampons into solid ice, but I was still surrounded by a cloud of snow blocking my vision. My head spinning and heart racing, I searched for Dad, Karen, and our guides. I sucked the burning cold air into my lungs and screamed, Dad!

No answer. Only the frozen breath of Everest against my face.

I desperately clung to the side of the mountain as the dream that had been the focus of my entire existence for the past four years slipped away. It couldnt end like this, not with losing people I loved, not with losing the Sherpas whod been risking their lives to help me reach my goal. I screamed again and again until the cold shredded my throat.