Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala made history early this morning as the first Sri Lankan to scale Mount Everest.
Another Sri Lankan national, Johann Peries, who was also part of the Everest expedition, is currently making his summit bid.
Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, stands 8,848 metres above sea level on the border of Nepal and China. Before today (May 21), no Sri Lankan had managed to reach the tallest peak on earth.
Jayanthi and Johann have been mountaineering as a team since they reached the summit of Mount Imja Tse together in 2011 and have been training for this expedition since January 2015.
According to International Mountain Guides website, Jayanthi was part of “2016 IMG Everest Summit Team 1,” comprising of 4 guides, 9 climbers and 15 Sherpas who reached the summit this morning.
“All of them are now descending. The winds remain light. Some of the team members will descend to Camp 2 today and some will stop at Camp 4,” it said.
