Melbourne teen Bianca Adler becomes youngest Australian to summit Everest

Bianca Adler, an 18-year-old from Melbourne, reached the 8,849-metre summit of Mount Everest at around 2:20am Nepal time, becoming the youngest Australian to accomplish the feat. Her historic climb came exactly one year after she was forced to turn back just 400 metres from the top due to dangerous weather and the onset of frostbite symptoms. She was accompanied by guides Pemba and Ngdu after an eight-hour climb from Camp 4.

Adler's first attempt in May 2025 ended when strong winds and snow made conditions perilous, and both she and her father, Paul, were later diagnosed with high-altitude pulmonary oedema and dehydration. She spent the following year training and acclimatising before returning to Nepal in April 2026. After weeks of preparation, she began her final summit push from Camp 4 around 6pm, climbing through the night in temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius.

After reaching the summit, Adler began her descent and made it back to Camp 4, still in the death zone. She described the descent as considerably harder than the climb. Her father, waiting at Camp 2, said the family was extremely proud. Adler surpasses Gabby Kanizay, who was 19 when she reached the summit in 2022, as the youngest Australian to climb Everest.