Northampton girl climbs Australia's highest peak
A young mountaineer from Northampton has scaled Australia's highest peak, as part of an international fundraising mission to raise money for charity.
Ailsa Wright will now return to her home in Collingtree to sit her A-Levels, after reaching the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, in Australia.
She said: "The route was made more challenging with a night climb, but for our hard work we were rewarded with spectacular views of the sun rising over Australia.
"Even at 7,500ft, a lot smaller than 23,000ft Aconcagua, in Argentina, we could see the curvature of the earth and were well above the clouds.
"The weather was good to us all the way up, with minimal snow and light winds, so we spent a good hour on the summit enjoying the amazing 360 degree view."
Aisla, aged 18, decided to climb the seven summits – the highest peak on each continent – last year, to raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation.
She has already completed climbs of Kilimanjaro and Mount Aconcagua, in Argentina, but was airlifted off the latter close to the summit, after getting injured.
Mount Kosciuszko is in the Australian state of New South Wales and is in the Snowy Mountains, which forms part of the Great Dividing Range which straddles the New South Wales and Victoria borders. It is the highest peak on the Australian mainland.
After reaching the summit, Ailsa visited Melbourne and Tasmania and will now return to the UK to sit her A-Levels. She said she took up the challenge to prove wrong those who do not believe in what young people can do.
Ailsa added she picked the Make A Wish Foundation – which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses – after conversations with her friends.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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