Five-year-old Indian treks up to Everest base camp

The parents of five-year-old Harshit Saumitra, the youngest climber to reach the base camp of Mount Everest, are trying to register their son's name in thed Guinness World Records and Limca Book of Records.

"We will try to get Harshit Saumitra's name in Guinness Book of World Records and Limca Book of Records for becoming the youngest climber to reach the base camp of Mount Everest," his father Rajeev Saumitra told IANS over telephone Wednesday, five days after he achieved the feat.

The family is currently visiting their native village Jogiyara Pator in Bihar's Darbhanga district.

The father said Harshit Saumitra's pictures of reaching the base camp, video clippings and his birth certificate would be sent to the Guinness World Records and the Limca Book of Records offices.

"I am confident that Harshit's name will get into both the records," he said.

Rajeev Saumitra claimed that his son, a Class 1 student of GD Goenka School in New Delhi, broke the previous record held by seven-year-old Aaryan Balaji, also an Indian, who reached the base camp in 2012.

He said Harshit completed the trek to the base point at an altitude of 5,380 metres despite heavy snowfall in the wake of the cyclone 'Hudhud'.

He also said Harshit climbed the nearby Kalapathar peak, which is at a height of 5,550 metres. The peak is higher than the highest peaks of three continents - Mount Blank (4,810 m) in Europe, Vison Massif (4,810 m) in Antarctica, and Punack Jaya (4,884 m) in Australia.

Rajeev Saumitra said Harshit was felicitated with the Nepal Bharat Friendship Society on his feat.

An upbeat Rajeev Saumitra announced he would set up a Harshit Foundation to lend a helping hand to the less privileged and children from weaker sections of society.

"The foundation's thrust would be to support and help poorest of the poor students for education, health and sports," he told IANS.