Johnny Collinson, a high school senior from Utah, just became the youngest person to climb the seven summits - the highest peaks on each of the seven continents.The 17-year-old from Snowbird made it to the top of Antarctica's 16,076-foot Vinson Massif this past Monday, officially making him the youngest person to successfully climb the seven summits - and doing it all in just one year!
Collinson's goal was to top them all in 365 days. The final feat was completed just hours before that deadline.
Collinson began his mountaineering career with a summit of Mt. Rainier at age four.
His quest for the seven summits began in January 2009 with a summit of Argentina's Aconcagua.
Collinson teamed up with Mountain Madness, a Seattle-based adventure company, to help guide him to the top. From their high camp, the team had an eleven-hour round trip push to the summit of Vinson. They encountered sub-zero temperatures, icy slopes, and high winds, but Collinson was undeterred from skiing off the summit and back down to high camp.
Collinson is quoted through Mountain Madness as saying: "…climbing to the top of the 7 Summits seems like it would be the greatest physical feat I could accomplish. Like anyone my age, it's easy to become lost in the world of electronic distractions. I want to live life instead of watching it on TV."
Amen, brother....
Here are the dates of each of his summits:
* January 18, 2010; Vinson Massif
* August 20, 2009; Carstenz
* July 21, 2009; Kilimanjaro
* July 8, 2009; Elbrus
* June 26, 2009; Denali
* May 19, 2009; Everest
* January 19, 2009; Aconcagua
Please click here to visit Collison's website.
Jeff
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