7 peaks in 7 continents in record time

Kathamandu: An Australian mountaineer scaled Mt Everest on Monday, completing his quest to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents in record time. Steve Plain, 36, scaled Everest 117 days after he began his mission by climbing Mt Vinson in Antarctica on January 16. He followed that up with Mt Aconcagua in South America, Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mt Carstensz Pyramid in Papua New Guinea, Mt Elbrus in Europe and Denali in North America. AP

Double amputee finally summits Everest 

Kathamandu: A Chinese climber who lost both legs to frostbite on Everest four decades ago finally reached the summit on Monday, just months after the revocation of a controversial ban on double amputee climbers attempting the world’s highest peak. Xia Boyu, 69, summited Everest in his fifth attempt to reach the top of the 8,848-metre mountain. Xia first attempted to summit Everest with a Chinese government-backed team in 1975. AFP