The youngest person to climb Mount Everest is Jordan Romero, an American from California, who reached the summit from the Tibet side on 22 May 2010 aged 13 years and 10 months. The youngest girl is India’s Malavath Purna, who summited on 25 May 2014 aged 13 years and 11 months. Because of age rules introduced since, neither record is likely to be broken.
Romero went on to become the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits, finishing on Antarctica’s Vinson Massif in December 2011 aged 15. Below we cover the full list of youngest Everest climbers, the age rules in Nepal and China, Romero’s climbs, the criticism he faced and what he has done since.
Quick answer: youngest people to climb Everest
| Climber | Country | Summit date | Age | Side | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Romero | USA | 22 May 2010 | 13 years, 10 months | North (Tibet) | Youngest person overall |
| Malavath Purna | India | 25 May 2014 | 13 years, 11 months | North (Tibet) | Youngest female |
| Ming Kipa Sherpa | Nepal | 22 May 2003 | Reported as 15 | North (Tibet) | Previous youngest female; exact birth date not documented |
| Temba Tsheri Sherpa | Nepal | 23 May 2001 | 16 years, about 2 weeks | North (Tibet) | Youngest verified record before Romero |
Note that all four climbed from Tibet. That is not chance: Nepal does not issue Everest permits to anyone under 16, so younger climbers had to use the Chinese side. Since 2010 China has had a minimum age of 18, which closes that route too.
Jordan Romero: key facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 July 1996, Redlands, California |
| Grew up | Big Bear Lake, California |
| Parents | Paul Romero (father) and Leigh Anne Drake (mother); stepmother Karen Lundgren |
| Everest summit | 22 May 2010, via the North Col and Northeast Ridge from Tibet |
| Age on Everest | 13 years, 10 months, 10 days |
| Team | Paul Romero, Karen Lundgren and Sherpas Ang Pasang, Lama Dawa and Lama Karma |
| Seven Summits completed | 24 December 2011, Vinson Massif, Antarctica, aged 15 years, 5 months |
| Books | The Boy Who Conquered Everest (2010, with Katherine Blanc); No Summit Out of Sight (2014, with Linda LeBlanc) |
| Inspiration | A school mural of the Seven Summits, seen aged nine |
Everest age rules: Nepal vs China
The age limits explain why the youngest-climber list looks the way it does.
| Side | Authority | Minimum age | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| South (Nepal) | Department of Tourism, Nepal | 16 | The most popular route, via Everest Base Camp and the Khumbu Icefall. Under-16s cannot get a permit. |
| North (Tibet) | China Tibet Mountaineering Association | 18 | Announced on 10 June 2010, weeks after Romero’s climb. An upper limit of 60 was set at the same time. |
The upshot: since 2010, the youngest anyone could legally climb Everest is 16, from Nepal. Romero’s and Purna’s records at 13 are effectively locked in unless the rules change. Recent teenage climbers, such as India’s Kaamya Karthikeyan in May 2024, have summited at 16.
Age rules do not apply to trekking. Families with teenagers regularly walk to base camp, which needs no climbing permit. See our Everest Base Camp trek and our guide to trekking for beginners.
Early life: how a nine-year-old picked the Seven Summits
Jordan Romero was born in Redlands, California, in 1996 and grew up in Big Bear Lake, a mountain town in the San Bernardino range. His father, Paul Romero, was a paramedic and adventure racer, and his stepmother Karen Lundgren was also an endurance athlete.
At nine, Jordan saw a painting of the highest mountains on each continent on his school corridor wall and told his father he wanted to climb them all. Paul agreed to help, on the condition that they train properly. A year later, in July 2006, Jordan stood on top of Kilimanjaro aged 10.
Jordan Romero’s Seven Summits
| Date | Mountain | Continent | Height | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2006 | Kilimanjaro | Africa | 5,895 m | 10 |
| April 2007 | Kosciuszko | Australia | 2,228 m | 10 |
| July 2007 | Elbrus | Europe | 5,642 m | 11 |
| December 2007 | Aconcagua | South America | 6,961 m | 11 |
| June 2008 | Denali | North America | 6,190 m | 11 |
| September 2009 | Carstensz Pyramid | Oceania | 4,884 m | 13 |
| 22 May 2010 | Everest | Asia | 8,849 m | 13 |
| 24 December 2011 | Vinson Massif | Antarctica | 4,892 m | 15 |
Because he climbed both Kosciuszko and Carstensz Pyramid, Romero completed both common versions of the Seven Summits list. Finishing at 15 years, 5 months and 12 days, he took the youngest-completion record from Britain’s George Atkinson, who had finished at 16.
Carstensz was the hardest to organise. The peak in Indonesian Papua requires special permits and was frequently closed.
The 2010 Everest climb
Preparation and funding
By early 2010 Jordan had climbed six of the seven continental summits, including Denali at 11. The family raised money through sponsors and the sale of merchandise. He trained by hiking and running near Big Bear, carrying loaded packs and spending time at altitude.
Why the Tibet side
Nepal’s minimum age of 16 ruled out the south side. China then had no age limit, so the team chose the North Col and Northeast Ridge route from Tibet. The north side is colder and windier, with a long summit day along an exposed ridge, but it avoids the Khumbu Icefall.
The team
Jordan climbed with his father Paul, stepmother Karen Lundgren and three Sherpa climbers: Ang Pasang Sherpa, Lama Dawa Sherpa and Lama Karma Sherpa. They used supplementary oxygen, as nearly all Everest climbers do, and carried a satellite phone and GPS tracker so supporters could follow the climb online.
Summit day
The team reached the top on 22 May 2010 (local time) and called home by satellite phone from the summit, with the news posted on the team’s blog soon after. At 13 years and 10 months, he was nearly three years younger than Temba Tsheri, the previous verified record-holder.
For the scale of what that involves, from the death zone to the summit weather, see our Mount Everest facts guide.
The controversy
Romero’s climb was hugely popular, and heavily criticised. Doctors and mountaineers questioned whether a 13-year-old could understand the risks or make life-and-death judgements high in the death zone. Some British mountaineering medics argued publicly that the climb went against the spirit of mountaineering. Others worried about the effects of extreme altitude on a developing body and brain.
Some critics also questioned whether the project was driven more by adults than by the boy himself. The family’s position was that Jordan had chosen the goal, trained for years, and that experienced adults and Sherpas were with him at every step.
The practical result came within weeks. On 10 June 2010 the China Tibet Mountaineering Association set its age range of 18 to 60. Whatever one thinks of the climb, it directly changed the rules. Altitude risk is real at any age; our guide to altitude sickness on Everest explains the warning signs for trekkers too.
Youngest female to climb Everest: Malavath Purna
Four years later, Malavath Purna from Telangana, India, reached the summit on 25 May 2014, aged 13 years and 11 months. She was part of a government welfare-school programme for children from poor and tribal families, and like Romero she climbed from Tibet. China’s under-18 rule was in force by then, yet she was granted a permit; why the authorities made that exception has not been publicly explained.
She later completed the Seven Summits on Denali in June 2022. Read her full story in our profile of Malavath Purna.
Before Purna, the youngest woman was reportedly Ming Kipa Sherpa of Nepal, who summited from Tibet in 2003 aged about 15 with her siblings, including Lhakpa Sherpa, who now holds the women’s record for most Everest summits.
Other youngest-climber records
- Youngest from the Nepal side: limited to 16-year-olds by law. Several teenagers have summited at 16, but exact birth dates are not always published, so we do not name a single record-holder.
- Youngest woman to complete the Seven Summits: India’s Kaamya Karthikeyan finished on Vinson on 24 December 2024 aged 17, after summiting Everest at 16.
- Youngest person to complete the Seven Summits: Jordan Romero, at 15 in 2011. We have found no verified case of anyone completing them younger.
- First ascent: Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary in 1953. Hillary was 33.
What is Jordan Romero doing now?
After Vinson, Romero began a project to climb the highest point in each of the 50 US states, adding several New England and western highpoints to Denali. In 2014 he published No Summit Out of Sight, a young readers’ account of his climbs. He also gave talks to schools encouraging children to set big goals.
Since his late teens he has kept a much lower profile. Public sources indicate he lives in Portland, Oregon. We have not found reliable, recent reporting on his career or on whether he finished the 50 state highpoints, so we will not guess.
Can teenagers trek in the Everest region?
Yes. Climbing Everest needs a permit and has strict age limits, but trekking to Everest Base Camp (5,364 m) does not. Fit teenagers walk it every season with their families. The trek takes about 12 to 14 days, includes rest days for acclimatisation in Namche Bazaar and Dingboche, and needs the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu municipality permit plus the Sagarmatha National Park permit. Altitude still affects young people, so build in rest days and descend if symptoms worsen.
For planning, see our guides to the Everest Base Camp trek cost and the best time to trek Everest Base Camp.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the youngest person to climb Mount Everest?
Jordan Romero of the United States, who reached the summit from the Tibet side on 22 May 2010 aged 13 years, 10 months and 10 days.
Who is the youngest girl to climb Mount Everest?
Malavath Purna of India, who summited from the Tibet side on 25 May 2014 aged 13 years and 11 months.
How old was Jordan Romero when he climbed Everest?
He was 13. Born on 12 July 1996, he summited on 22 May 2010, making him 13 years and 10 months old.
What is the minimum age to climb Everest?
16 from the Nepal side and 18 from the Tibet (China) side. China brought in its limit in June 2010, a few weeks after Romero’s climb.
Will Jordan Romero’s record ever be broken?
It is unlikely while the current rules stand. With minimum ages of 16 in Nepal and 18 in China, nobody younger than 16 can legally get an Everest permit.
Who was the youngest person to climb Everest before Jordan Romero?
Temba Tsheri Sherpa of Nepal, who summited in May 2001 aged 16. Ming Kipa Sherpa is reported to have been 15 when she summited in 2003, but her exact birth date is not documented, so sources differ on whether she counts as the record-holder.
Is Jordan Romero the youngest to climb the Seven Summits?
Yes. He completed them on Vinson Massif in Antarctica on 24 December 2011 aged 15 years and 5 months, beating George Atkinson’s record.
Where is Jordan Romero now?
He has kept a low profile since his teens and is reported to live in Portland, Oregon. After the Seven Summits he climbed several US state highpoints and published a book, No Summit Out of Sight, in 2014.
