British boy is youngest seven-summit climber

KATHMANDU: A 16-year-old British schoolboy became the youngest person ever to climb the highest mountains of all the seven continents when he ascended Mount Everest, the tallest of them, on Thursday, said his organisers.

George Atkinson from Surbiton, a London suburb, climbed the 8,850-metre Everest summit on Thursday from the Tibetan side of the mountain, which abuts Nepal and China, according to the British hiking group Adventure Peaks website.

Mr. Atkinson was three days shy of his 17th birthday when he reached the top of the Everest, beating the feat of the previous record-holder, American Johnny Collinson's, of ascending all seven summits when he was 17.

‘Incredible'

“George Atkinson broke the world-record for being the youngest to complete the seven summits,” said the agency. “An incredible achievement.”

The statement could not be officially confirmed as Nepali government officials would not comment on climbing activities on the Chinese side of the mountain.

But the British Mountaineering Council confirmed the record, the BBC reported on its website.

Mr. Atkinson's first conquest was Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, at the age of 11 in 2005.

Accompanied

On Thursday, Mr. Atkinson was accompanied by 17 other climbers, including Sherpa guides, to the Everest summit, said Himalayan Guides, the Nepali climbing group which provided local logistics.

More than 3,100 people have made over 5,100 ascents of the colossal peak since it was first climbed by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. — Reuters