Australian conquers 'Seven Summits' in record time
May 14, 2018
Australian climber Steve Plain scaled Mount Everest on Monday, becoming the fastest climber to scale the highest peaks on all seven continents, an expedition organizer said.
Plain took just 117 days to conquer the "Seven Summits." Polish mountaineer Janusz Kochanski held the previous record of 126 days to complete the feat.
Iswari Poudel of Himalayan Guides Nepal said he got a call from the Everest base camp, confirming Plain's successful ascent to the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak at around 7 a.m.
The 36-year-old Australian began his quest by climbing Mount Vinson in Antarctica on January 16. He followed that with Mount Aconcagua in South America, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Carstensz Pyramid in Papua New Guinea, which covers Australia and Oceania, Mount Elbrus in Europe and Denali in North America.
Extraordinary achievement
Separately, a Chinese climber also set a new record on Monday, becoming the first double amputee to scale the Everest from the Nepali side of the peak.
Seventy-year-old Xia Boyu had lost both his legs due to frostbite during his first attempt to reach the top in 1975. He failed on his subsequent attempts in 2014, 2015 and 2016, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.
The only other double amputee to have conquered the world's tallest peak was Mark Inglis from New Zealand in 2006. But he scaled the peak's Tibetan side.
ap/msh (AFP, dpa)