I’ve had dreams of climbing Mt. Everest ever since I first read John Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. Of course, my dreams often include me casually strolling up the side of the mountain — warm cup of coffee in my hand — making it to the top of the world’s tallest mountain with minimal effort to pose for pictures in front of a flag with my own face on it. Cut me some slack…these are dreams! It turns out that Everest is a bit more difficult to climb than my subconscious — or even a teenage girl — would lead you to believe.
Samantha Larson — an 18-year-old girl from Long Beach, California — has become the youngest American to climb Mt. Everest, and the youngest in the world to climb all 7 summits.
“We made it to the top!” she exclaimed on her blog upon reaching the summit of Everest last Wednesday. “Now all we have to do is get back down…” Turns out she could be the world’s highest blogger as well!
Congratulations, Samantha — only 16 more to tie Apa!