BEIJING -- A 13-year-old American boy became the youngest

climber to reach the top of Mount Everest on Saturday, breaking the record as part of his quest to climb the highest peaks on

all seven continents.

A spokesman for Jordan Romero said the boy's team called him by

satellite phone from the summit of the world's highest mountain,

29,035 feet above sea level.

"Their dreams have now come true. Everyone sounded unbelievably

happy," a new statement on Romero's blog said Saturday morning.

Jordan Romero, 13, from Big Bear, Calif., supplants Nepal's Temba Tsheri, who reached Everest's peak as a 16-year-old. SAM TAYLOR/AFP/Getty Images

The teenager with long curly hair -- who climbed Mount

Kilimanjaro in Africa when he was 10 years old -- has said he was

inspired by a painting in his school hallway of the seven

continents' highest summits.

"Every step I take is finally toward the biggest goal of my

life, to stand on top of the world," Romero said in an earlier

post on his blog.

The record for the youngest climber to scale Everest had been

held by Temba Tsheri of Nepal, who reached the peak at age 16.

"I'm just very proud of him," Romero's mother told The

Associated Press by telephone just before he reached the peak, as

she watched his progress online on a live GPS tracker.

When asked what she would say to him once he reached the summit,

she started crying: "I can't really say that. It's just

emotional."

Romero, from Big Bear, Calif., was climbing Everest with his

father, his father's girlfriend and three Sherpa guides. He left

for the peak from the base camp on the Chinese side.

Everest was Jordan Romero's first challenge above 26,240 feet.

Unlike neighboring Nepal, the other approach to Everest, China

has no age limit for climbers. Romero registered with Chinese

officials in April, said Zhang Mingxing, secretary general of China

Tibet Mountaineering Association.

No interview with Romero will be possible until he returns to

advance base camp, which could take a couple of days, said Rob

Bailey, the U.S.-based spokesman for the teenager's climbing team.

Climbers stay overnight at three or four camps before the summit,

depending on their route and pace.

The team planned to do something special for Romero at the

mountaintop but was keeping it a surprise even from him, Bailey

said.