Indian
girl, 13, becomes youngest girl to climb Mount Everest
Malavath Poorna makes history.
On
Sunday 25th May 2014, the 13-year-old daughter of poor Indian farmers became
the youngest girl to climb Mount Everest.
At
a press conference held on Wednesday 4th June 2014, she revealed that
she “shed joyful tears” at the summit after a grueling climb.
According
to Associated Press, Nepal requires climbers to be at
least 16 years old to
scale its peak, but she and a team of Nepalese climbing guides made it to the
top on May 25th from the northern side in Tibet. China has no age restrictions.
Malavath
says “it was very difficult. Every step is a dangerous step”, and she saw “six
dead bodies. I was shocked. Oh my God, I got some fear.”
Malavath
said her parents, impoverished farmers from the southern state of Andhra
Pradesh, encouraged her during eight months of training despite the fact that
she had never before been on a mountain. Her family are dalits, once known as
"untouchables," at the bottom of India's ancient caste system.
The
climb was verified by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association in Lhasa,
making Malavath the youngest girl to climb Everest. American Jordan Romero, from Big Bear, California,
became the youngest boy at age 13 to reach the summit — also from the Tibetan
side — in 2010.
The
journey was sponsored by the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential
Educational Institution Society, as part of its program to help
underprivileged children.
 |
| Jordan Romero |
