At 12, he began rock-climbing.

Since age 14, he has climbed nine of the world's most challenging mountains.

He was the youngest to summit on four and the expedition's youngest climber on three more. At 15, he climbed Everest from the difficult North side, then returned a year later for a second summit attempt from the South side in 1996. He stopped just short of the summit when the notorious storm, profiled in the IMAX film Everest, hit killing eight people. Last year, he postponed a third Everest attempt to return home to his father who was dying of cancer. In September, Dutton will publish Within Reach, an autobiography that tells this remarkable young man's story. ^[1]