June 30, 2009

Johnny Strange

Posted: 03:31 PM ET
Johnny Strange, 17, is the youngest person to climb seven summits.
Johnny Strange, 17, is the youngest person to climb seven summits.

This is a first. I get to feature someone who beat the world record of another young person I featured. Samantha Larson was one of our first "Young People Who Rock." She was then the youngest person to reach the Seven Summits at 18, an extraordinary feat. Now, Johnny Strange holds the the record.

At 17, he Johnny completed a journey he started with his dad five years ago. There is one climb per continent, including Mount Everest and Mount McKinley. His final summit climb was Australia's 7,310-foot Mount Kosiuszko.

Johnny didn't leave the tallest for last. He says that was because he wanted to appreciate the lone experience and not just part of the seven summit goal. At the end, he sent an email to his friends and family saying, "Never let anyone stifle your dreams no matter the feat, for if you have the heart and the courage, impossible is nothing."

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Adventurers • Amazing talents • Under 20 • Youngest in the class


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Todorovic   July 9th, 2009 9:18 am ET

I very like texts about climbing,
My dream is to get on the top of Mount Everest,
until than I will climb on my local Stara planina,

http://www.staraplanina.eu/

Johnny Strange News | Most Popular Searches - webmastereye.net   July 16th, 2009 12:36 am ET

[...] Johnny Strange – Young People Who Rock – CNN.com BlogsJohnny Strange, 17, is the youngest person to climb seven summits. This is a first. I get to feature someone who beat the world record of another young person I featured. Samantha Larson was one of our first “Young People Who Rock. ...Read more [...]

Trad   October 5th, 2009 1:26 pm ET

cost of doing 7 summits: roughly $175,000 USD.

But Paris Hilton was burning through that much at that rate when she was 17... climbing, maybe, but not mountains!

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Nicole LapinYoung People Who Rock is a weekly interview series focused on people under 30 - from CEOs to entertainers to athletes to community and political leaders - who are doing remarkable things. Nicole Lapin finds them and introduces them here by writing a weekly column that goes out in time for you to chime in before she interviews them Fridays on CNN.com Live.

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