8YO boy from AP becomes youngest to scale Mount Elbrus
At the age of 8 years and 3 months, Andhra Pradesh boy Gandham Bhuvan Jai has become the youngest to scale Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe and one of the Seven Summits.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 21 Sep 2021 3:11 AM GMT
Kurnool: At the age of 8 years and 3 months, Andhra Pradesh boy Gandham Bhuvan Jai has become the youngest to scale Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe and one of the Seven Summits.
At 5,642metres, Mt. Elbrus is a fine ascent that requires mountaineering skills, although altitude and unpredictable weather make for a challenging and adventurous trip. It is necessary to have technical preparation, physical conditioning, warm clothing, and good equipment to successfully scale the mountain.
Bhuvan is a class III student from Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. He is enthusiastic about sports with a keen interest in climbing and mountaineering.
His father is noted IAS officer Gandham Chandrudu who is fondly referred to as "People's Collector" by the people of Ananthapuram when he was a collector. Seeing Bhuvan's interest in adventure, his parents encouraged him from a young age and sent him to be trained by coach Shankaraiah.
Mr. Shankariah, the sports coach of Rural Development Trust (RDT) of Ananthapuram, took a personal interest in Bhuvan. He himself is a mountaineer and has scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, last year. He has also trained several boys and girls in various sports.
Bhuvan also received technical and altitude training at Adventure Sports Academy in Gandikota, Kadapa.
The expedition team comprised Shankaraiah; Anminsh Bhupathi Raju Varma from Visakhapatnam who climbed Mt. Everest in May 2021 and has won gold medals in international kickboxing championships; and Naveen Mallesh from Bangalore.
Bhuvan reached the summit of Mount Elbrus on 18 September and displayed the Indian Tricolor on the summit.
The team is descending to the base camp now. After the successful expedition, the team will reach India on 23 September.
Bhuvan credited his achievement to the opportunity provided to him by his parents. In a video message, he said, "There are many talented children out there who, if provided the opportunity, can achieve what they want to. I hope that such an opportunity is provided to all those children."
