12 | AG Outdoor
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O
N HER THIRD attempt, Australian
teenagerAlyssaAzarhas,attheageof19,
becometheyoungestAustraliantoreach
the top of Mt Everest – a record previously held by
Rex Pemberton, who summited at the age of 21.
After having to postpone the previous two
attempts due to the Khumbu Icefall avalanche of
2014, and then the Nepal earthquake of 2015,
Alyssa didn’t lose sight of her goal and kept
training for the third attempt this season.
Even then, at one stage it looked like Alyssa
would be foiled a third time due to a volatile
weather forecast but this cleared in time for her to
attempt the summit. Her success comes from years
of dedication and some fantastic support, aptly
enough, from one of Australia’s own outdoor gear
companies: Mountain Designs.
Alyssa was extremely thankful for MD’s support- a partnership that started way back in 2005
when she walked the Kokoda Track – and she used
a total of 28 pieces of MD gear during her Everest
training and summit attempt.
Of course, the gear is only as good as its user
and Alyssa’s preparation for this climb was nothing
short of thorough and extraordinary; Alyssa
included training with Special Forces and
commando soldiers in Australia as part of her
pre-climb prep.
There is still more to come from Australia’s
youngest Everest summiteer – the Seven Summits,
as well as trekking to the North and South poles
are all on the Alyssa Azar agenda so we have little
doubt you will be reading more about this young
Aussie adventurer in the years to come.
Alyssa Azar youngest
Aussie to summit Everest