Facing the rising sun on May 23, 2021, Chen Min, a 52-year-old woman from Chongqing, managed to be the oldest female in China to summit Mount Everest at an altitude of 8,848.86 meters.
"Women's beauty has many facets, and I'm at my most beautiful when I stand on Mount Everest," Chen said when she recalled the 44-day arduous journey to the summit. This calm and capable woman used the words "treading on thin ice," "preparing for the worst," and "facing danger bravely" to describe her experience of climbing Mount Everest a year ago.
On May 23, 2021, Chen Min to summit Mount Everest at an altitude of 8,848.86 meters (Photo provided to iChongqing)
On April 14, 2021, Chen flew from Chongqing to Kathmandu, Nepal. After 12 days of hiking, Chen and her eight Chinese teammates came to the Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5,400 meters.
On May 15, the opportunity finally came. Chen and her teammates went through the Khumbu Glacier, known as the "Terror Glacier," regardless of all difficulties.
At 11:30 p.m. on May 22, Chen and her teammates started their climb to the summit from an altitude of 7,950 meters. When they were about 100 meters away from the summit, a life-and-death crisis occurred — the only air outlet of Chen's oxygen mask was choked up with ice, leaving her starved of oxygen. Fortunately, the guide noticed it and removed the ice, reviving Chen from oxygen deficit.
The climbing team. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
At 8:50 Nepal time, Chen finally reached the top of the world. Holding a five-star red flag, Chen kowtowed solemnly and affectionately three times towards China, facing the North Face of Mount Everest.
More peaks to be conquered in four years
Chen exercised every day to prepare to summit Mount Everest (Photo provided to iChongqing)
"Climbing Mount Everest is one of the highlights of my life, not the last." Over the past year, Chen has never stopped training. She runs up and down hills, jogs along the river daily, and goes to the gym for core and muscle strength training.
Chen said she had set herself a "four-year plan" to complete the "7+2" projects, which involve climbing the highest mountains on all seven continents and crossing the North and South Poles.
According to Chen, women over 50 are traditionally expected to lead a relaxed and comfortable life and do what they should do at their age. But in her view, women should not be limited by age. The best way to live our life is to give our all to something we're passionate about.