When she looked at the Mount Everest for the first time, she said to her coach that she can scale it in a day
In the Asian country of Nepal, the Mount Everest is the tallest peak in the world with a ceiling height of 8848.86 metres (29031.69291 feet). 100 years ago, no one could’ve imagined anyone reaching the summit of the Everest but the impossible was achieved in 1953 by two brave men. From New Zealand, Edmund Hillary, along with Nepal’s Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, conquered the top of the Everest on May 29. Since then, several brave individuals have been successful in scribbling their names on the summit of the Chomolungma.
Out of several, this superhuman performance was also accomplished by a 13-year-old girl. Hailing from India, her name is Poorna Malavath, and she is the youngest kid in the world to touch the top of the Everest.
Her first climb
From the Indian state of Telangana (formerly Andhra Pradesh), Poorna comes from a household with monetary trouble and belongs to a tribal community. As a child, Poorna used to attend a government-funded school and was a remarkable student who always dreamt of growing into an IPS officer. However, she had an attraction towards tall mountains. Her first climb happened at an embryonic age when she ascended a steep rock in Telangana. Known as Bhongir rock, Poorna climbed it with no rope or equipment.
Reaching the Mountain Everest
When Poorna was 13, the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential school chose her and several other kids for the expedition. The school is subsidized by the government and grants free education to underprivileged children. After getting selected, Poorna was sent to a mountaineering institute in Darjeeling (West Bengal) where she trained for eight months. To get accustomed with the sub-zero temperature, Poorna climbed Mount Renock (17,000 feet) and later, she was sent ahead on the Mount Everest trek.
At 13 years and 11 months, Poorna reached the top of the Everest in 2014 and her expedition lasted 52 days.
Seven continents, seven peaks
For Poorna, scaling the Mount Everest was not enough as she decided to climb the seven tallest peaks in seven continents of the world. After reaching the Everest in 2014, Poorna reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa, 2016) and Mt. Elbrus (Europe, 2017). In 2019, she reached the summits of Mt. Aconcagua (South America), Mt. Cartsnez (Oceania) and Mt. Vinson Massif (Antarctica). At present, the sole peak that Poorna is yet to conquer is the Denali mountain (formerly Mt. McKinley, North America).
