16岁高二女生登顶7,546米慕士塔格峰

Wang Yuanyuan

cheekywang@hotmail.com

A 16-year-old student of Shenzhen Senior High School reached the summit of the Muztagata in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in August, becoming the youngest Chinese woman to reach the peak, which is 7,546 meters above sea level.

Zhu Qingyue, a Senior 2 student, climbed the mountain, which is known as “father of snow mountain,” with her mother in August. It was her third attempt at conquering the mountain.

“It was quite a feeling to finally get to the peak. Picking myself up after failing twice has taught me some important lessons about perseverance,” she said.

Zhu began hiking at age 3. “I went with my father on a walk from Dongchong to Xichong. It took us a whole day. Since then, he has taken me to countless outdoor locations for camping, sightseeing and fishing, teaching me survival skills along the way. We climbed mountains every month and I conquered every mountain in and around Shenzhen at a very early age,” she said.

Initially, Zhu, like her mother, did not like hiking. “But my father is a member of the city’s alpinist club and often takes us to climb mountains. Gradually, we fell in love with the sport. His rigorous training regime has strengthened my mind and body,” Zhu said.

Zhu’s first snow mountain journey was to the Muztagata. “I was 14 and I did not have enough experience, so the leader asked me to stop at about 5,500 meters,” she said.

The next year, Zhu made a second attempt. Having learned from her previous experience, she reached about 6,700 meters. “When I got to that point, I was dizzy and found it hard to breathe. I had to descend before I got any serious illnesses,” she said.

It is not easy to conquer such a tall mountain, particularly one on plateaus. “We only had instant noodles to eat and could only shower once a month. I thought about giving up several times, but my father encouraged me,” she said.

When they were about to reach the summit, they ran into a heavy snow storm. “The storm was extremely strong this year and all the crevices were covered by snow. My mother almost fell into a crevice when she tried to answer her phone. It was too dangerous,” she said.

Zhu said that she would attempt even more challenging mountains in the future. “Climbing mountains is good preparation for other challenges in life,” she said.