Jordan Romero, 13, 'becomes youngest to scale Everest'

Jordan Romero was due to do some school work during his trip

A 13-year-old American boy has become the youngest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, his family says.

Jordan Romero, from California, telephoned his mother from the peak of the world’s highest mountain, she said.

“Mom, I’m calling you from the top of the world,” Leigh Anne Drake quoted her son as saying.

He was climbing with his father and three Sherpa guides. The previous record was held by a Nepalese boy of 16.

The 13-year-old has now conquered the highest mountains on six of the world’s seven continents.

JORDAN’S SUMMITS

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• Africa – Kilimanjaro: 2006
• Europe – Elbrus: 2007
• South America – Aconcagua: 2007
• North America – Denali: 2008
• Oceania – Carstensz Pyramid: 2009
• Everest – Asia: 2010

He climbed Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro aged 10. He just needs to scale the Vinson Massif in Antarctica.

He has also scaled Mount Kosciuszko in Australia.

The team set off from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, last month, heading for the base camp on the Chinese side of the mountain.

While Nepal insists that anyone planning to climb Mount Everest must be 16, China does not impose any age restrictions.

Some mountaineers have criticised the Romero family for letting him attempt the feat but his father said the ascent from the Chinese side is less dangerous, the AFP news agency reports.

Last month, his mother told the BBC he would do some school work during the trip.

Also on Saturday, Apa Sherpa, 50, climbed Everest for the 20th time, surpassing his own record.

Reference Link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10141547.stm

Courtesy
The BBC

First woman to conquer 14 peaks

Narrowly beats Spaniard to the record

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KATHMANDU: A South Korean mountaineer became the first woman to scale the world’s 14 highest mountains, crawling on all fours on Tuesday as she reached the last summit.

Oh Eun-sun (44) arrived at the final, steep stretch of Annapurna in the Himalayas 13 hours after she left the last camp to beat a Spanish rival to the record. Her feat was broadcast live in South Korea by KBS television.

At the top, she pulled out a South Korean flag, waved, and then wept before throwing up her arms and shouting, “Victory!”

Annapurna was the last of the 14 peaks above 26,247 feet Ms. Oh needed to climb to set the mark. She reached the summit — 26,545 feet above sea level — 13 years after she scaled her first Himalayan mountain, Gasherbrum II, in 1997. She scaled the Everest in 2004.

Ms. Oh narrowly beat Edurne Pasaban of Spain to the record. After reaching Annapurna earlier this month, Ms. Pasaban (26) has only the 26,330-foot-high Mount Shisha Pangma left on her list.

Ms. Oh also tried to summit Annapurna last year but turned away just hundreds of yards from the top because of bad weather. Snow and wind also stopped her from making the trek last weekend.

She said this trip would be different, adding that she would be carrying a photograph of Ko Mi-young, a lifelong rival who fell to her death last year while descending from Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth-highest peak.

On Tuesday, KBS footage showed Ms. Oh breathing heavily after each step in minus-29 Celsius temperatures on snowy Annapurna. “I’m so happy, and I would like to share this joy with the South Korean people,” said an emotional Ms. Oh, murmuring, “Thank you, thank you.”

President Lee Myung-bak sent a congratulatory message, saying South Koreans were “awakened to her great spirits of challenge,” according to his office. “She is really great and I’m proud of her,” he said.

Ms. Oh’s quest has met with some controversy, after some questioned whether she had in fact summited one of the peaks on the list: Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest. Photos taken of that trek did not clearly prove she had reached the summit. She dismissed the criticism. — AP

Reference Link
http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/28/stories/2010042855241300.htm

Courtesy
The Hindu