Girl conquers Everest base camp
Four-year-old unseats previous record holder
GEORGE TOWN: A four-year-old Czech girl who lives in Penang, Zara Sifra, has become the youngest person to reach the Mount Everest Base Camp (EBC) in Nepal, that is located at an altitude of 5,364m above sea level.
Her father David, who is from the Czech Republic, said she accomplished the feat on Jan 1 with her seven-year-old brother Alex, adding that the accomplishment by the siblings was featured in news portals around the world such as WION, NDTV World, Republic World, Metro News, BNN Breaking and Radio Prague.
“I am getting lots of queries from the international media,” he said when met at the Moon Gate rest station in Penang Hill.
The record was previously held by five-yearold Prisha Lokesh Nikajoo from Thane in India, who reached EBC last year.
Zara, who was born in Canada and has both Canadian and Czech Republic citizenship, came to Penang when she was seven months old.
“She is almost a Penangite. She is attending a Chinese-medium kindergarten,” said David, adding that Alex, who speaks Czech, English and Chinese, was born in the Czech Republic and he was three when the family moved to Penang.
David and his wife Petra have been staying in Penang for four years and are regulars at the Penang Hill rest station.
He said he accompanied his children during the 28 days it took to cover some 270km on the return hike in Nepal, that saw them climbing to
an elevation of over 20,000m, and covered three peaks above 5,000m.
“They acclimatised well to the cold weather as they are physically fit. Zara never bathes in warm water. On the contrary, ice was added. Thanks to an elaborate acclimatisation (practice), her oxygen saturation value did not drop below 90%,” he said.
Metro News (UK) quoted David as saying the journey to EBC presented numerous challenges, including sub-zero temperatures plummeting to -25°C.
Despite the harsh conditions, he stressed on the importance of careful acclimatisation, continuous monitoring of blood oxygen saturation, and a gradual progression pace to ensure the safety and well-being of his children.
He also revealed that Alex has covered all G7 peaks, which are the seven highest peaks in Peninsular Malaysia, in addition to conquering the peaks of mountains in several continents.
David said Zara and Alex were “kids of the jungle” as they have hiked to many places in Penang and elsewhere.
“To me, the hike to Gunung Tahan, which is one of the G7 peaks, is tougher than EBC as one has to carry luggage and spend several nights in the thick jungle,” he said.