Mod note (Andy): Best of Eddie, this was originally posted on 1/6/12.
You know that resumé you dream about submitting? The one that sets you so far apart from your competition that the firm brings you in for an interview just to shake your hand? Well, while you were wondering whether or not to include your interest in Skrillex (seriously?), this kid was out conquering the world.
At 15 years old, Jordan Romero has set the record for the youngest person to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents. He finished up two weeks ago by summitting Antarctica's Vinson Massif. Mount Everest? He knocked that shit out when he was 13.
Now, I'm actually of two minds when it comes to this sort of thing. First and foremost, it's an unbelievable achievement for any human being, much less someone so young. So big ups to the kid for reaching a goal like this. But the other side of me wonders if this isn't borderline child abuse. Mount Everest at 13? Come on. At the very least that's reckless endangerment.
I remember thinking the same thing in 2010 when Abby Sunderland got in trouble during her quest to become the youngest non-stop circumnavigator. As someone who has completed many long and dangerous boat deliveries, I can tell you that the Southern Ocean is no place for a kid when it gets ugly out there, much less a kid by herself with no one around for a couple hundred miles.
I'm gonna step off my parenting soap box now to take a minute to point out how cool this kid is and how...well...lame all of you are.
You were president of your college investment club and interned at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley? Bitch, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro when I was 10. No, I can't tell you what I think the ruble is going to do long term, but I can tell you what the weather is like at the top of Mount Elbrus 'cause I was there before I turned 11.
I'm right there with you guys. When I was 15, Michelle Falk was the only peak I attempted to summit (sadly, the mission never got further than base camp).
Needless to say, this kid is probably going to go far in life. When you're this driven this early, you pretty much have to do well. I just wonder if it isn't too much, too soon. Like when Alexander the Great surveyed his kingdom and wept, for there were no worlds left to conquer. A 9-5 gig 10 years from now is gonna be pretty brutal on this kid.
But how would you like to be the guy interviewing after him? Imagine walking into that room and hearing the interviewers rave about what a maniac the kid before you was and how they'd love to work with a guy like that. Then they focus on you and say, "What have you got?"
I guess the antidote to that is to go out and do something outrageously cool yourself.
This sounds like a pretty fun Friday exercise. Now that you're too old to achieve the seven peaks record, what else could you accomplish that would be so over the top that firms would want to frame your resumé and advertise in the Journal that they'd hired you?
any idiot can climb a mountain only the targets can enter the gates of the goldman
LOL. I honestly hope that some of this is sarcastic wit.
The reason why this individual is soooo "cool" is that he couldn't give a shit about resumes and all other tiresome affairs. He climbs these peaks because he ENJOYS the experience, unlike most here at WSO who pursue hobbies for the sole sake of placing the experience on a CV.
You seemed to miss the whole point sir.
but bankers do gods work(unlike some kid climbing mountains, unless he is moses), this kid is selfish and doesn't give back to society(via taxes)
but you're right him climbing a mountain with 21st century equipment makes him bad ass or it makes means his parents have bank for him to do this shit
Who says doing what he enjoys most isn't what's best for society?
Who says doing what he enjoys most isn't what's best for society?
I should do something cool before I'm dead.
All I've got that can be compared to this is that I visited 20 countries in Europe on my own. Often not speaking the local language. This involved getting attacked by rock throwing thieves at 3am, having to negotiate my way out of extortion by crooked border police, and falling in a manhole while walking backwards to take a photo, as well as a whole lot of other adventures. However, I don't really know how that would effect my CV though, so I just leave it off. Actually, not long after I got home, I heard about this guy who'd ridden a bicycle from Istanbul to Beijing. I wish I'd thought of that.
1.) This kid probably has driven parents who enjoy mountain climbing. 2.) When my kids hit 12, they're going off the mountain in a hang glider, whether they want to or not. (just kidding... sort of...)
Good for this kid- huge accomplishment, but there's a lot of other folks under age X that have done X, Y, or Z. Good for them, too. Hopefully he will be as driven as his parents when he hits 18.
This guy is no Alex Honnold
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/10/02/60minutes/main20114487.shtml
Now that guy is f&*(&ing insane.
His dad is probably an MD at Goldman.
You know how much money all the shit he did costs?
But I agree Edmundo, this kid is a badass regardless.
I believe it costs around 65k to try to summit Everest. I don't know how many upper-middle class income families have that kind of money for their kid to climb one mountain.
Most kids that have that kind of capital would find a cool hobby (I hope). Maybe not that ambitious, but still . . . it's not like everyone can just get up one day and say "Dad, I wanna climb all 7 highest continental peaks by 15. So, start spending your money on it!"
this is not true. most end up wasting their lives, either because they get caught up in pathetic lives or as a deliberate rebellion. the value of the prestige culture is that it gives them something to focus on, which is why its so prevalent at the Daltons and Etons of the world.
I don't care how rich this kids parents are, this is an incredible story. Do some people really think that when you are climbing Mt. Everest or any other peak that mother nature cares about how much money you have. Money might get you to base camp but its 100% on this kid to actually complete this incredible task himself. My lazy ass went on a hike at Pikes Peak and I almost fainted from lack of oxygen or was it cause I was incredibly hungover. Anyways that was at 14,000 feet, I could not imagine climbing Everest which is more than double the height even with an oxygen mask.
This reminds me of an afternoon that my buddy and I got it in our heads we could climb Mt. San Jacinto and make it back down before dark. With a 12-pack of beer. In my fucking Cole Haans. Common sense only intervened when we ran out of beer and realized we didn't even have a flashlight, so we'd freeze our asses off on the mountain if we didn't get back down before dark.
mountain-climbing skills aren't directly transferable to academics, but motivation is.
http://www.jordanromero.com/t-shirts/
Actually I'm gonna change my vote from cool to tool. Go Team Jordan!
Ya, but was he godly at Diablo 2 as I was at 15?
lol, I was the godliest when it came to D2, i had everything. Cant wait for D3 too come out.
I put so many hours into LOD, I am kinda worried about D3 though
Anybody else thinking it would be more difficult to get a job at Goldman than climb everest?
Heres some stats on everest: • Everest has been attempted 11,000 times • 3,000 attempts have been successful (reached the summit) • Success rate is 29% • 207 climbers have died on Everest • Fatality rate is 2.05% • 54 of the summiteers died • Summit to Fatality rate is 1.82%
How much would it suck to be the 1.82% that reached the summit and then died. Although, I wouldn't mind that view on my deathbed.
http://www.malloryexpedition.com/everest.htm
It's nice to have rich parents who can PAY THE FUCKING BILL for this. I usually agree with what EB has to say but common man...
LOL. Go easy on that HATER-ADE, baby. That shit'll kill you.
Great achievement and this kid should definitely be commended. However, I wonder how much of this is actually due to overzealous parents with substantial funding. As a climber I can tell you that one trip to Kathmandu and a shot at Everest will run about $85k all-in. Vinson probably another $35k. Carstenz Pyriamid approx $25k and so on.
^^ lol yea.... I am getting my pilot license soon! But nothing crazy like this. I guess i never truely enjoyed mountain climbing though. It is a great feat nonetheless,
This guy could get in Goldman no doubt. I could see it.
interests: climbing Mount Everest, DCF modeling, Merger bottling
interviewer= WTF? He is a G lets make him an MD.
But if I ever have a kid I am give he/she an option at 6 to pick a sport the love, and then I am sending them off to camp. That is what Nadal's parents did told him to either focus on tennis or soccer at 6, he picked tennis of course.
they love* . they told him*
Why are people hating on the fact that this kid can afford this shit? It's common fact that if you have money then you have an inherent advantage over some who is not. whether thats getting into an ivy because your parents have donated millions or because your papa is a MD at a bank. More importantly, isn't our goal to have enough to splurge on shit like this...
Many of you sound like OWS hipsters.
I had 5 guys at level 99 at LOD and killed Diablo many times over, did he do that? exactly.
I stopped being jealous about shit like this in high school when you realize some people find early passions and, when combined with supportive/driven parents, they are able to accomplish so much. Still I'm incredibly impressed and major props to the tyke.
Those who are complaining that he has the $$ to do this wouldn't even ATTEMPT to climb ONE mountain if you had 20x the money this kid has. Give him some credit here
busy gettin some.
True, but no 15 year old just says "hey dad, give me 65k (or whatever it costs) because I'd like to climb Mt. Everest". I promise you this kid has parents that are avid rock climbers who gave him the opportunities and pushed him to do all of this. Would a lot of kids raised under the same circumstances still take it as far as the kid did? No. But it's really not as impressive when you see the whole story (note: I don't know anything about this guy, just saying that in general this tends to be the case). It's not really that impressive when some kid wins the International Math Olympiad if both of his parents are math professors. If he's some black kid from the ghetto, then fuck yea that's impressive, but no black kid from the ghetto is going to care enough about math and have the drive/talent to go that far (at such a young age).
This kid is definitely cool as fuck. That being said, I'm sure that if you delve into the circumstances of how he was raised, his accomplishments wouldn't be nearly as impressive.
Also, people here are saying that $65k isn't a lot if it's something you're passionate about. If I ever asked for $65k from my parents to climb a mountain, they most definitely would not be able to afford it, and even if they could, they wouldn't want to pay for it.
Well said.
Just a slight FYI rock climbing and mountianeirng are two very different animals.
I think the people that are jealous of this ridiculous achievement are those that have trophies that say "You're a Winner" instead of "1st place." I simply cannot find a correlation to having money and actually reaching the summit of these peaks. How many trust funders could accomplish this task, or have a quarter of this kids ambition? This coddled/OWS generation is upset if someone achieves something in their life. When you can't play dodge ball or tag on the playground because someone could get hurt, let alone keep score of a soccer game-- we have lost all hope in a once prosperous great nation.
If that's your life's passion and it's a one-time expense out of seven summits, most of which are cheaper, I can live with that. Also, the oft-quoted $65K per person expense is for a one-person team. It's probably more like $100K for the whole family; perhaps $40-60K for them all if they went as part of a larger group.
What really does people in are the recurring costs. If you climb Everest every year, you are going to go bankrupt. And for the record, that $65K cost for a family to climb Everest is equivalent to one year of tuition at most private schools.
I'll bet he had some serious sponsorships from outdoor companies to fund all of this. You don't think Patagonia or North Face wants their logo in the middle of his shirt when he walks onto the set of Good Morning America?
I retract my statement....didnt see xcross said he was sponsored
bull, xcross just posted that he did have sponsership like 2 posts ago.....
that fucking mop though
Shut the fuck up. You wish you could rock that look.
Just looked it up, his dad is a flight medic and they live in Big Bear Lake, CA. No MD at GS.
we have the same first name... im a boss
Jay Raider you creepy fuck.
I wish I had parents who let me do this. I love mountaneering (reading about it. I would probably pussy out on the Everest)
Haha, I would say it's borderline creepy but then again all I did was google his name, took me all of five seconds
You honestly think this kid is gonna end up doing 9-5? You're delusional. He'll be sponsored by rock climbing gear companies (if he isn't already) and do this for a living until the day he dies...
Adrenaline junkies live for this shit, they'd kill themselves before doing a 9-5...
This. The kid probably had a shit ton of companies already begging for his first words when he got back to the bottom to be their company.
yea I bet no MD would ever tell him to get a hair cut!
Stating opinions as facts again? I thought we've moved past that point.
I wasn't being literal obviously, but I'm sure some people on this board have more money than this kid and have never climbed a mountain lol
Yes Eddie, I am SUCH A LOSER. Sorry for coming from a middle-class background. I did not get to travel on the 7 continents when I was a kid. Fuck me... I should have been more driven. I was busy playing baseball with the uncool crew.
Then again I have a BB FO job.
I'm more impressed with this guy. All before he was 18. If there are two balls between Jordan Romero and Colton Harris-Moore, Colton's got em both:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/16/barefoot-bandit-sentenced-s…
[quote=NoTimeForSpace]I'm more impressed with this guy. All before he was 18. If there are two balls between Jordan Romero and Colton Harris-Moore, Colton's got em both:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/16/barefoot-bandit-sentenced-s…]
I like Colton's style, but homeboy seriously lacks focus.
Too true. He sold his movie rights for $3MM and it's all going to the "victims" of his crimes though. He gets some face back for that.
Who the fuck is Michelle Falk?
Exactly.
my vote is on the side that says this is just a spoiled rich kid...i predict that by junior year of high school he will be dropping four tabs of acid a day and by 25 he will be back in his parents place. As someone who (briefly) attended a new england boarding school back in the day I have met this guy many times just at slightly less accomplished levels.
Also, the poster above who said that this guy will make lots of money on endorsements is not experienced in this business...being "sponsored" in a sport like mountain climbing, even at high levels, is not lucrative at all. He'll basically get free climbing expeditions but not much more then that. You do this type of thing for the love, not for any money...and starting at this age, probably pushed by parents, is a sure-fire way to hate it by the time you are 25.
Ambition might get you up the mountain, but it's not going to get you TO the mountain. Plains, trains and automobiles do that and those don't care how badly you are pushing yourself to reach the summit. They care about money. Not too mention the costs already outlined by everyone else. The point is that I'm not going to feel like a loser because someone got to do something I would of done if given the same opportunity. I'd do it now, why am I not doing it? I don't have money for that shit. Yeah I feel frustrated and "loserish" now for not being able to do it, but it's better to point out the difference in circumstance then take an unwarranted blow to the ego.
The kid accomplished something awesome though.
Ill get in my plane an fly over everest. POW! Beat that punks.
44k
It sounds impressive when you say a 15 year old climbed Everest, but the thing is he has probably been climbing with his parents since he was 5 or 6, learning things throughout the years. He didn't just stroll up the mountain and start climbing. Also, Everest, while very tall, isn't the most "difficult" climb. Let me see him climb K2 and get back to me. It's a great accomplishment, but it's not like he is superhuman or something. He had enough capital to do it, the luck of having the parents to both push him and provide the initial impetus to start climbing, and he had the physical aptitude. Giving the same circumstances, I am sure a fairly large amount of people could do the same thing.
Really?? "a fairly large amount of people could do the same thing" at 15(!!!!) years old?? And get off your high horse about K2 and that other BS. I'll give you 65k and see if you get up Everest.
In which case, I am not sure China is going to be happy about you flying a jet into Tibetan airspace.
This kid is amazing no doubt, I think that he has what it takes to achieve anything he wants. People who think this is easy, (just a money problem) you all know that is BS. People spend a lifetime preparing to climb JUST mount everest. So
This complaining is the same thing OWS people do, please do not degrade yourself to that level (ill prolly get monkey shit but idc). So what if his fucking parents have more than Paulsons net worth, there are a lot of rich kids out there that dont do jack shit.
Like this kid I aspire to be the best in something I am passionate about young. Kudos my friend kudos. Again nice post Ed, just shows how many of us are just not ambitious enough.
There are some very "touristy" trails to get up Everest from what I hear and if you have a decent guide it's not really all that difficult. Obviously you can't be a climbing novice but it's certainly no Alex Honnold.
Are you fucking serious, why dont you try to inhale at 25k with no oxygen. You have to get to the summit camp with out oxygen because it would kill you to carry enough tanks to use oxygen the whole way. You guys think you are the most fucking amazing people in the world just because you do finance. I would like to see your fat asses do a 10k foot accent let alone a 12k foot accent that starts at around 18500ft. Which by they way is higher then any peak in the continental US by over 4000 feet. It make me laugh honestly. I know im not the worlds most intersting person, fuck I make fun of my self more on here every day then most of you have in your life time. Instead of getting butt hurt because this kid is more then you will ever be, why dont you commend him for what he has done.
Where does it say anything about it him doing everest without supplemental oxygen? You should read "Into Thin Air"...I am not knocking the kid but Everest is more about luck and weather then it is about climbing skill. 60 year olds are regularly guided to the summit.
I am inclined to believe that your accomplishments before the age of 18 say much less about you than they do about your parents. Also, it's a lot tougher to climb Everest at 60- even at 30- than it is to climb at 15. Your lungs are more efficient.
This kid might be something or he might not. Let's see what he's up to at 20.
Lung efficiency, is a tiny factor. 15 year olds bodies are not made to carry their own weight plus. What you loose in lung efficiency you gain more in body efficiency, muscle development, and general body development.
I'm sure you know all about what a 15 year old boy's body is built to do.
This.
Like I alluded to above, the problem is that you guys seem to be under the impression that he was born into the same kind of family as you and me and just suddenly decided to run off and go climb mountains. Apparently when he climbed Everest, he did it with his dad and step-mom. I don't know about you, but I don't find it impressive when a Harvard legacy gets accepted to Harvard (not necessarily because he got to put "legacy" on his application, but because he was raised by smart people that knew the system).
Apparently he climbed the tallest mountain in Africa when he was 9. What kind of 9 year old does that? A 9 year old that's raised by hardcore climbers. I'm not saying that it's not impressive, just saying that a lot of you guys are giving this kid way too much credit.
I can understand the argument,but I just think that what he did has never been done before so it is SIGNIFICANT.... I mean you look at google, anyone could have come up with the idea that wouldnt life be so much fucking easier if we could just ask questions on the web and get answers instantly? I can def tell you that somebody thought of that before the founder of Google, its just that the person before didnt have the ambition to create it.
Its not that the feat was soo incredibly impossible to accomplish, to it was the fact that he was willing to do it at such a young age.
Look at young actors for sake, sooo many people want to be movie stars at young ages, 30% of the people can, but only .01% do it.
This kid is a doer, and he is the first in this case. Many of us are like him personality wise prolly, risk-takers, ambitious, goal getters type A personalities, but he is there a lot faster....... Lots of people on the website hate on the high school students cuz we think that they are too naive and dont understand jack shit (which may be true), I could see senior level climbers laugh at this kid's face when he said at 8 he wants to climb the top mountains NOW, but he did it.
In accusamus expedita repellendus autem dicta voluptatem. Aut sequi eius officiis earum pariatur. Omnis et et dolor.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Dicta ut ipsum expedita voluptatem. Reprehenderit aut et quae. Ipsa et harum quis. Tempora sed excepturi laudantium illum adipisci aspernatur.
Numquam libero sed totam quidem eos quia ut. Qui et quisquam in et nihil autem. Consectetur officia rerum aut cupiditate ipsum in sint. Quod ad laudantium dolores rerum voluptatibus. Eligendi tempora mollitia et id quia non.
At dolorem dolorem illum aut consequuntur sint facilis. Enim aut voluptatibus fugiat quidem. Quibusdam id vel omnis explicabo placeat.
Velit similique qui aliquam sint. Ducimus cupiditate ullam ipsum in quam omnis dicta. Magnam suscipit ut ut sit quam exercitationem.
Velit ut rerum atque. Quis dolorum a laboriosam velit in. Voluptates eius odio iure sit atque sed est.
Id ut est qui voluptates amet dolore iure. Vitae sunt eos quis odit impedit est. Ut distinctio nihil omnis dolores numquam voluptatibus. Repellat dolore nulla voluptas et voluptas rerum.
Voluptatem sequi soluta est. Similique sit et suscipit. Saepe quas voluptatibus id iste sed. Vel quibusdam ut ut sit sunt voluptatem ea.
Beatae vel nihil quisquam corporis. Sunt pariatur earum recusandae ex perferendis. Ut doloremque minima at eaque qui mollitia magni.
Aut officiis architecto a libero ea. Esse dolore et voluptatem incidunt. Distinctio aut et eum.
Voluptates error vero ullam et ab consequatur et. Est harum non corrupti commodi reprehenderit libero omnis. Eius odit officiis nulla aliquam molestiae ut voluptas. Ex cum cupiditate sapiente quae voluptatem. Rerum ea aut quas eveniet.