At the Top of the World Who is Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner Who is Edmund Viesturs Who is Kim Chang ho What is the significance of 14 eight I thousanders Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner slowly climbed up The snow was deep The air was thin The winds were rough She couldn t feel her fingers and toes She climbed up steep slopes She strained her legs She finally summited the mountain To summit means to reach the top She tried to climb K2 six times It s the second highest mountain in the world One time she saw a climber fall He died Another time the weather was too
She became the second woman to climb the 14 eight thousanders Eight thousanders means mountains that are over 8 000 meters tall That s 26 247 feet There are 14 of them They're in the Himalayan mountain range They re in central Asia She s the first woman to do so without using oxygen tanks She did it without porters Porters carry peoples gear Eight thousanders are the tallest mountains in the
Edmund Viesturs said I needed 30 years of skill training and experience to climb that mountain Edmund Viesturs climbed up He took a step He breathed 18 times He gasped for air He took another step He summited Annapurna It has the highest climber death rate It has no clear route to the top There are falling rocks He tried two other times He said The art of mountaineering is knowing when to go when to stay and when to retreat He became the first American to climb the 14 eight thousanders He s the fifth person to do so without oxygen
tanks He thinks bringing oxygen is cheating He said It brings the mountain down to your level If I have to train harder or suffer more then so be it And if I can t get NAILED IT Advice from the Field Malavath Poorna Malavath Poorna is the youngest girl to summit Mount Everest She was 13 years and 11 months old She's from India She's from a poor family Her parents are farm workers She wanted to prove that anyone could do anything She dealt with the cold and the climb She climbed with an experienced mountaineer her friend and a group of sherpas She was challenged by the packaged food She said I did not like its smell or taste She wanted to eat her mother's food Bodies of dead climbers also scared her She said I saw six dead bodies But she remained brave She advised herself to think good thoughts She thought about her parents Her good thoughts paid off She said When I reached the top I felt too much emotion too much
