An 18-year-old high school student from Melbourne has become the youngest Australian to climb to the top of Mount Everest. Bianca Adler reached the 8,849-metre summit at approximately 6:30 am AEST on Wednesday, accompanied by her guides Pemba and Ngdu. The achievement marks her second attempt after turning back 400 metres from the summit last year due to strong winds.
A Family of Climbers
Adler was joined for part of the journey by her parents, Paul and Fiona, both experienced mountaineers. Paul Adler climbed Everest in 2007, while Fiona reached the summit in 2006. The couple previously received a letter from then Prime Minister John Howard congratulating them on their achievement. In a radio call from the summit, Adler told her father she felt "really good but the weather is really bad." Her father responded, "It's amazing what you've done and so much hard work – it's amazing."
Challenges on the Descent
According to a post on her Instagram account, Adler found the descent more challenging than the ascent. "I felt like I needed to be so much more cautious and it was a lot of work clipping around people," she wrote. She noted that the section between the South Summit and the summit is particularly technical, and large queues of about a dozen climbers made progress difficult while staying clipped in.
Adler was resting at Camp 4 on Wednesday afternoon and plans to descend to Camp 2. Her next goal after returning to Melbourne is to complete Year 12. Nepal's Department of Mountaineering reported that 410 foreign climbers received permits to attempt Everest this spring season, with a fee of US$15,000 per climber.
