Tuesday, May 22, 2012

 Oldest woman to climb Mount Everest: Tamae Watanabe breaks world record

KATHMANDU, Nepal -- Japanese alpinist Tamae Watanabe, 73, reached the summit of Mt. Everest "very good heath", rewriting her own record as the oldest woman in the world to scale the mountain , according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/.

  Photo: Tamae Watanabe, right, of Japan poses with a photographer Noriyuki Muraguchi at a base camp on the foot of Mt. Everest in Nepal. The 73-year-old Watanabe has climbed Mount Everest, smashing her own record to again become the oldest woman to scale the world's highest mountain. Photo: AP ( enlarge photo )

The Guinness world record for the Oldest person to climb Mt Everest (female) was set by Tamae Watanabe (Japan) (b. 21 November 1938), who reached the summit of Mt Everest at the age of 63 years 177 days at 9:55 a.m. on 16 May 2002, becoming the oldest woman ever to do so.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the Oldest person to climb Mt Eevrest, set by Min Bahadur Sherchan (Nepal, b.20 June 1931), who reached the highest point on Earth at the age of 76 years 340 days.

  Tamae Watanabe reached the 8,850 metre (29,035 feet) summit with a Japanese partner and three Nepali Sherpa guides on Saturday morning, said Ang Tshering Sherpa, who runs the Asian Trekking company, which provided logistics to the team.

  "Watanabe and other climbers are in good physical condition. They are descending to their last camp which is located at an altitude of 8,300 metres (27,230 feet)," he said.

  Watanabe, who first became the oldest woman to climb the mountain in 2002 at the age of 63, bettered her own record and set a new climbing feat, Sherpa said. She scaled the peak from the Tibetan side of the mountain.

  According to the officials, Watanabe was in "very good heath" and had already started descending the mountain. She is expected to arrive in Katmandu in eight or nine days at the earliest.

  In 2002, Watanabe, from Yamanashi Prefecture, reached the top of Mt. Everest at the age of 63, becoming the world's eldest woman to have conquered the mountain.

  The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has issued climbing permits to 32 teams comprising 337 climbers, including 325 foreigners for this spring.

  The royalty for climbing Qomolangma ranges from 15,000 U.S. dollars to 70,000 dollars per expedition, depending on the number of expedition members (maximum seven) and the route.
  For an expedition having a maximum of 15 members, a fee of 10,000 dollars per person is charged.

   Related world records:
Everest world records

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 10:42 AM