Malavath Purna, 13, became the youngest female mountaineer to scale the peak
Hyderabad: Two students from AP Social Welfare Residential Schools created history by scaling the Mount Everest on Sunday.
Malavath Purna, 13, from Nizamabad district, became the youngest female mountaineer to scale the peak. Purna was accompanied by 18-year-old Sadhanapalli Anand Kumar, another Class IX student from Khammam district.
The teenagers symbolically carried photographs of BR Ambedkar and former IAS officer SR Sankaran, on the highest peak. The two proudly hoisted the national flag on the peak
Despite hailing from poor families, Purna, daughter of farm labourers and Anand, who is the son of a cycle mechanic, reached the highest peak with sheer determination and hard work, which could inspire many others.
The duo were determined to conquer the Mount Everest even after an avalanche last month, which claimed 16 lives, forcing many climbers to abandon their plans to ascend the Everest.
The duo were under the guidance of well-known city mountaineer Shekhar Babu and a Chinese team.
“The duo conquered the Everest today morning. They proved to the world that poverty is no barrier once opportunities are created. We are proud of them,” said Dr R.S.Praveen Kumar, secretary, AP Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society.
New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay were the first people to climb Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. This week marks the 61st anniversary of the conquest. Since then, more than 4,000 people have climbed the 8,850 metres (29,035 feet) summit.
The window for climbing Everest lasts until May 25, after which the temperature gets warmer and the mountain more dangerous.
