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Jayanthi makes history on Everest peak
View(s):Women’s rights activist Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala made history as the first Sri Lankan to reach the world’s highest peak of Mount Everest at an awesome 29,029 feet yesterday, the International Mountain Guides website confirmed. She had left Camp 4, one of the base camps in the mountain around 9 pm on Friday with her fellow Sri Lankan and climbing partner Johann Peries.
Jayanthi makes history on Everest peak
“Johann made it to beyond Camp 4 and Jayanthi along with her Nepalese Sherpa or guide, Fura Gyalzen, continued to the summit. This was a strenuous overnight trek through the Everest’s Death Zone that was lit by the full moon,” her support group in Colombo said in a statement.
The Camp 4 commonly known as the Death Zone is the Jayanthi makes history on Everest peak
region above 26,000ft where climbers face many challenges to survive including extremely low temperatures and there is only about a third of the amount of oxygen as there is at sea level. “All of them are now descending and the winds remain light. Some of the team members will descend to Camp 2 today and some will stop at Camp 4,” the website said in its Mt. Everest Expedition Coverage.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulated the courageous mountaineers.The premier said he and the country were happy and proud of them.
The mountain top history making Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala was earlier a journalist and work for some time at our sister paper the Daily Mirror. During the past few weeks, the Sunday Times Magazine monitored the progress of Jayanthi and Johann based on reports received online from their base camp.