Melbourne year 12 student Bianca Adler, 18, has made history as the youngest Australian to reach the summit of Mount Everest, completing the climb in the early hours of Wednesday morning Nepal time.
It is reported by ABC that Adler reached the 8,849-metre peak at about 2.20am local time, roughly eight hours after departing Camp 4, and made a brief radio call from the summit to her father, Paul Adler, who was waiting further down the mountain.
“I feel really good up here actually, like physically I feel great,” she said, while noting the difficult conditions at the top of the world.
She is now undertaking the dangerous descent through the “death zone”, with her progress expected to take at least another day as she moves between high-altitude camps in extreme cold and low oxygen conditions.
Adler’s parents, Fiona and Paul, have been closely involved in the expedition, joining her at Base Camp and accompanying her part of the way up the mountain. Paul Adler reached Camp 2, around 6,500 metres, where he has been awaiting her return.
Speaking from Camp 2, he described the emotional toll of the climb and said his daughter had shown “extraordinary determination” in the face of severe weather and physical danger.
“It’s extremely dangerous up there and you feel very nervous for your life,” he told ABC.
Adler’s achievement marks a new Australian record, surpassing Gabby Kanizay, who reached the summit in 2022 at age 19.
The 18-year-old completed the climb during her second attempt on Everest, after being forced to turn back last year just 400 metres from the summit due to extreme winds and frostbite risk.
Born in Melbourne, Adler began climbing in the French Alps and has previously summited Mt Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain.
She spent a month acclimatising in Nepal ahead of the Everest push, moving through multiple camps and navigating the hazardous Khumbu Icefall before making the final ascent.
Climber Greg Mortimer said her achievement demonstrated “mental fortitude above her years”, noting the extreme difficulty of high-altitude expeditions at such a young age.
Adler is now expected to return to Base Camp after completing her descent, before heading home to finish her final year of school at St Leonard’s College, with Year 12 exams her next priority.
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