Bonita Norris. Youngest Mount Everest Climber
Ms. Bonita Norris has become the youngest climber ever to climb Mount Everest; she is just 22 years old. This was an amazing feat for this young graduate, because she had never scaled a mountain of this magnitude before. Most people who attempt to scale the treacherous mountain usually have a few climbs under their belt already and are very fit and experienced climbers to begin with. This young lady may have been fit but she was not an experienced climber nor had she scaled a few peaks beforehand. The question to ask here is why climb Mount Everest and why do it with no experience?
There is a certain allure about Mount Everest, ever since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay scaled it way back in 1953. (Courtesy Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Hillary). It seems to be the one peak that all serious climbers dream about climbing. A lot of them don’t get the chance because of the astronomical cost to fund the trip, the difficulties in getting the right sort of weather to make a successful climb and the extreme dangers in actually climbing the mountain. But those that do make it, and many have, probably have one of the greatest experiences of their lives.
The feeling of climbing the world’s highest mountain and living to tell the tale is in itself one of the greatest feelings in the world but, to do it as the youngest person ever to scale it is an altogether monumental task.
The young lady this article is about has to be one of the most determined and strong willed climbers on the planet. It is never advisable to jump straight into something with no experience, which could explain why people always want to know about experience in job interviews, but sometimes the ability to take a big risk pays a big reward.
This is what all entrepreneurs know and also what Ms. Norris knew before she began her arduous and very dangerous quest. An article gives us the facts of her amazing feat, “Aged 22, Bonita Norris is the youngest British woman to scale Mt Everest. Her party reached the 8,848m peak on 17th May - the middle of climbing season on the world's highest mountain,” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/ 8689810.stm). The article goes on to describe how hard it is to actually climb the dangerous mountain. It says fear is a huge factor along with being very physically fit, most people don’t realise just how scary the journey is.
People who suffer from vertigo need not apply. It also takes amazing presence of mind to stay sane during the entire journey and keep focused on the task at hand. It looks like young Ms. Norris ticked all the right boxes and had all the right stuff.
It is interesting to note that the youngest person ever to climb the mountain is only 22 years old. Why hasn’t anyone younger than that been able to make the climb? There must be a lot of rich parents out there willing to fund their 20 year old son or daughter and I have seen some really big and muscular 18 year olds in my day. So it must be something more than just being rich and in top physical condition. What I feel it boils down to be is mental strength and the determination to see the process through to the end.
Most 22 year olds are too busy partying, studying or about to start their careers, to even think about climbing a huge and imposing mountain. One thing is for sure that it takes someone with a little bit more maturity than the average 20 year old to accomplish the honour.
Whatever the case Bonita Norris has made a name for herself in history and world record books; she should be extremely proud of herself as everyone else who reads her amazing story will be.
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