Beijing teen makes history with Everest summit climb

Li Haorong, a 17-year-old teen from Beijing, reached the summit of the world's highest peak, Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest), at an altitude of 8848.86 meters, at 6:47 am on Sunday. He is the first underage male in Chinese mountaineering history to reach the summit from the northern slope of the mountain.

"First and foremost, I would like to once again thank my two guides, Lobsang Dondrub and Sonam Tsering. The protection and assistance they provided during my ascent were indispensable," said Li Haorong.

"Since I began climbing expeditions in January 2023, mountaineering has given me so much. The greatest lesson that the highest peak in the world has taught me is to have a sense of reverence," he added.

Li Haorong, now in his second year of high school, is a member of the Youmei Youth Mountaineering Team.

The team's leader and CEO of the Youmei Camp, Li Jinghui, reached the summit at 8:08 am on Sunday.

Established in November 2022, the team has summited several peaks, including Sichuan's Mount Siguniang, Yunnan's Haba Snow Mountain, Qinghai's Yuzhu Peak, and Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro, Xinjiang's Muztagh Ata, and Xizang's Cho Oyu.

On May 11, Yin Yunfeng, an alumnus of Renmin University, reached Mount Qomolangma's summit from its southern slope. He and his teammates became the first group of climbers to reach the summit in the spring climbing season of 2025.

This climbing season is the first since the Qomolangma base camp in Dingri county was struck by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in January.