George Atkinson (climber)

George Atkinson (born 29 May 1994) is an English climber. At the age of sixteen he became the youngest ever person to complete the Seven Summits Challenge by climbing to the summit of the highest mountain on each of seven continents.[3] He completed the challenge at 08:15 local time on 26 May 2011 when he reached the summit of Mount Everest.[4] Atkinson was 16 years and 362 days old when he completed the challenge which beat previous record holder Johnny Collinson who completed the challenge at 17 years and 296 days old.[5] His record stood for seven months, until it was bested by Jordan Romero, who completed the challenge on 24 December 2011 at the age of 15.[6] George has recently submitted his PhD thesis in mathematical biology at the University of Oxford.

George Atkinson
Born29 May 1994
Surrey, England
EducationEwell Castle School[1][2]
Known forYoungest Briton to climb the Seven Summits

Seven Summits
Mount Everest, the final mountain climbed during Atkinson's Seven Summits attempt

Atkinson embarked on a world record attempt to be the youngest person to climb the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents when he was 11 years old. He completed it nearly six years later just a few days before his 17th birthday. He climbed the Mount Kilimanjaro, tallest mountain in Africa first. This was followed by Europe's Mount Elbrus at age 13.[7] Shortly before his 14th birthday Atkinson reached the summit of Australasia's Puncak Jaya and returned safely from the summit despite the arrest of his guides and ultimately his own arrest.[8] Peak four was Aconcagua in South America. At age 16 Atkinson climbed Denali in North America, reaching the summit on 12 July 2010, followed by Mount Vinson the highest mountain in Antarctica. The final peak was the world's highest mountain Mount Everest in Asia. Atkinson completed the record attempt when he reached the summit on 26 May 2011, becoming the youngest person to complete the Seven Summits.

World records

Atkinson has held world records for:

  • Youngest British person to climb the Seven Summits
  • Youngest British person to reach the summit of Mount Everest [9] (the youngest person is Jordan Romero)

References
  1. "Ewell ~ Surrey Life towns and villages". Surrey. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  2. "Notable Alumni – Ewell Castle School". www.ewellcastle.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  3. "London boy breaks Seven Summits record with Everest climb". BBC News. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  4. Atkinson, Penny (26 May 2011). "26th May 3.30am uk time. SUMMIT SUCCESS!". Blogspot. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  5. "16-year-old plans Everest climb to claim Seven Summits record". Metro. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  6. "California teen becomes youngest to climb 7 summits". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 December 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  7. Atkinson, George. "Mount Kilimanjaro". Blogspot. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  8. Atkinson, George. "Castenz Pyramid". Blogspot. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  9. "Update". Adventure Peaks. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
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