Eagle Scout becomes youngest to summit 27,766-foot Makalu

MakaluEagle Scout Matt Moniz keeps raising the stakes.

On May 25, the 16-year-old became the youngest person to summit the 27,766-foot Makalu, the world’s fifth-tallest mountain. A week earlier he summited the 26,905-foot Cho Oyu, Earth’s sixth-highest mountain.

Of course there’s one mountain taller than these and any other: Everest, elevation 29,029 feet.

As Men’s Journal reports, Matt and his dad had planned to summit Everest, which sits between Makalu and Cho Oyu. But a deadly avalanche on Everest back in April forced them to change their plans. Not only did they feel it was insensitive to climb after the tragedy that killed 16 Nepalese sherpas, but also the route they planned to use was destroyed in the avalanche.

I have a feeling Matt and his dad will be making another Everest attempt just as soon as the mountain allows it.

Their missed Everest try shouldn’t diminish the efforts of this Colorado Eagle Scout. Makalu, as Men’s Journal reports, “is considered one of the most difficult mountains to climb on Earth, requiring technical rock/ice climbing on the final ascent.”

Hear more from this impressive Eagle Scout in my pre-trip blog post.


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.