The youngest person to climb Mount Everest said Thursday that he was planning to take on another peak of more than 8,000 metres later this year. Jordan Romero, 13, said at a press conference in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, that he was now setting his sights on the 8,188-metre Cho Oyu, located near Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. "Hopefully, in autumn, I plan to climb Mount Cho Oyu and ski down once reaching the summit," Romero said. "And it will be Mount Vinson in Antarctica in the winter." Romero reached the summit of the 8,848-metre Mount Everest on May 22 via the north-face route from Tibet after a non-stop, 12-hour climb from a camp located at 7,500 metres. He was supported by a five-member team, including his father, his stepmother and three Sherpa guides. "It is definitely the hardest mountain I have ever climbed," Jordan said. "It was very windy with speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour, and especially towards the peak, it was rocky, and altitude and lack of oxygen made it more difficult." The first thing Romero did on the summit was to call his mother back in the United States. "I called my mother on the satellite phone from the peak and told her, 'Mom, it is your son calling from the top of the world,'" Romero said. The climb has generated criticism for exposing children to the dangers of climbing. "Age doesn't really matter when it comes to this," Romero said. "I would definitely encourage other children." Romero attempted Everest from the Tibetan side because the Nepalese government does not allow people under the age of 16 to attempt Everest. Sir Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay from Nepal were the first people to climb Everest on May 20, 1959. Since then, nearly 2,900 people have reached the summit and 215 have died trying.
