Jayanthi Kuru- Utumpala becomes first Sri Lankan woman to summit Everest

 Summit Success At just before 5:00am on the 21 May 2016, Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala became the first Sri Lankan ever to climb to the top of Mt Everest (29,029ft).  

She departed from Camp 4 at around 9pm the previous evening  with  her  fellow  Sri  Lankan  and  climbing  partner  Johann  Peries.  Johann  made  it  to  beyond Camp 4 and Jayanthi along with her Sherpa continued to the summit. This was a strenuous overnight trek through  the Death Zone of  Everest that was lit by the full moon, a statement from their support team in Colombo said

The  Death Zone is the region above   26,000ft   where   climbers   face   many   challenges   to   survive   including   extremely   low temperatures, and there is only about a third of the amount of oxygen as there is at sea level.   This makes breathing difficult, let alone climbing to the top of the mountain. The duo have been training and  acclimatizing  to  these  tough  conditions  for  the  past  two  months  on  Mt  Everest,  and  for  many years  prior  to  that  on  mountains  both  in  Sri  Lanka,  as  well  as  abroad.  

Jayanthi  and  Johann  are extremely  experienced  and  determined  to  succeed  and  this  expedition  highlights  their  mental  and physical toughness.  Jayanthi and Johann are currently on their way back down to Base Camp where they will be able to provide more details of their journey to step foot on top of the world.