Four-Year-Old Czech Girl Youngest to Reach Everest Base Camp

The recent feat achieved by four-year-old Zara from the Czech Republic is truly remarkable. This young girl has made history by becoming the youngest person ever to reach the base camp of Mount Everest. After trekking 170 grueling miles, Zara triumphantly arrived at the base camp, situated at an altitude of 17,598 feet. The previous record holder for the youngest to accomplish this was five-year-old Prisha Lokesh Nikajoo from India, who completed the journey just last year in 2023.

Zara took on this incredible expedition with her father, David Sifra, and seven-year-old brother by her side. The family faced numerous challenges during the demanding trek, including temperatures dropping to a bitter -25 degrees Celsius. To combat the harsh conditions and taxing climb, Zara's father emphasized the importance of gradually acclimatizing to the high altitude, closely monitoring blood oxygen levels, and pacing their ascent. The journey can induce severe altitude sickness or even prove fatal, regardless of one's age.

According to Mr. Sifra, Zara did not struggle at all and her acclimatization exceeded expectations, thanks to her excellent physical fitness. He said that his young daughter even managed to outpace some of the adult trekkers during parts of their climb upwards. A social media post from Zara's brother announced their successful expedition and included striking photos from the family adventure, noting they would soon begin their descent from base camp.

The post mentioned that little Zara's resilience to the cold was boosted by her habit of taking icy baths instead of warm ones. Furthermore, her impressive conditioning allowed her to surpass numerous fellow trekkers along the route.

Mr. Sifra believes his daughter's unique upbringing in Malaysia helped prepare her for the demands of this adventure. From an early age, Zara started going on long walks daily, covering 5-10 kilometers with elevation gains of 300-600 meters. Just last year, she accumulated over 2,200 kilometers of jungle trekking experience.

In Mr. Sifra's proud words, "There were no issues during the hike. Zara's acclimatization exceeded expectations. Thanks to her stellar physical shape, my little girl even overtook hundreds of other trekkers, with few exceptions. It's just incredible what a 4-year-old can accomplish physically and mentally."

While Zara holds dual citizenship in the Czech Republic and Canada, she currently resides in Malaysia with her multilingual family, fluently speaking Czech, Chinese and English.

Some Facts About Everest Base Camp:

• Technically, there are two base camps - one on the Northern side falling in China and one on the Southern side falling in Nepal.
• The altitude of the south base camp in Nepal is 5364 m, while the Northern side's camp is 5150 m.
• After the devasting April 2015 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal, the southern base camp is relocated 200-400 m lower, due to the damage to the previous camp route. The quake caused the death of around 20 people in the camp.