US boy,13,youngest to conquer Everest

A 13-YEAR-OLD American boy became the youngest climber to reach the top of Mount Everest on Saturday,breaking the former record as part of his quest to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents....

A 13-YEAR-OLD American boy became the youngest climber to reach the top of Mount Everest on Saturday,breaking the former record as part of his quest to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents.

A spokesman for Jordan Romero said the boys team called him by satellite phone from the summit of the worlds highest mountain,29,035 feet above sea level.

Their dreams have now come true. Everyone sounded unbelievably happy, a statement on Romeros blog said Saturday.

The teenager with long curly hair who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa when he was 10 years old has said he was inspired by a painting in his school hallway of the seven continents highest summits.

Every step I take is finally toward the biggest goal of my life,to stand on top of the world, Romero said in an earlier blog post.

The record for the youngest climber to scale Everest had been held by Temba Tsheri of Nepal,who reached the peak at age 16.

Im just very proud of him, Romeros mother said by telephone just before he reached the peak,as she watched his progress online on a live GPS tracker. When asked what she would say to him once he reached the summit,she started crying: I cant really say that. Its just emotional.

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Romero,from Big Bear,California,was climbing Everest with his father,his fathers girlfriend and three Sherpa guides. He left for the peak from the base camp on the Chinese side. Everest was Jordan Romeros first challenge above 26,240 feet.

Unlike neighbouring Nepal,the other approach to Everest,China has no age limit for climbers. Romero registered with Chinese officials in April,said Zhang Mingxing,secretary general of China Tibet Mountaineering Association.

No interview with Romero will be possible until he returns to advance base camp,which could take a couple of days,said Rob Bailey,the US spokesman for the teenagers climbing team. Climbers stay overnight at three or four camps before the summit.

Sherpa on top of the world for 20th time

KATHMANDU: A Nepalese Sherpa,Apa,on Saturday broke his own world record by reaching the top of 8,848 metre high Mount Everest for the 20th time. Apa ,50,reached the summit of the worlds highest peak at 8:43 am leading a 11-member international expedition which included an Indian climber Arjun Bajpayee who also scaled the peak to become the youngest Indian Everester.

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Apas team had set out to collect more than 7,000 kgs of garbage on the mountain.

Apa first climbed Everest in 1989. His closest rival is another Sherpa Chewang Nima who has climbed the peak 16 times.