This Melbourne teenager has just become the youngest Aussie to summit Mt Everest! 

 

Gabby Kanizay was just 19 years and 68 days old when she summited the world’s highest peak over the weekend. 

Sharing it With Her Mum

Summitting Mt Everest at just before sunrise on Saturday, Gaby shared the momentous achievement with her Mum, Jane Kanizay who also scaled the mountain, making the pair one of very few mother-daughter duos to do so.

‘I wasn’t expecting or prepared to be at the summit with mum,’ Gaby told ABC News. ‘We’d kind of convinced ourselves that it just wasn’t possible.’ 

‘To be there at the same time, to then stand on the summit together, was truly incredible.’ 

Teenage Dream Come True

Gaby has had her heart set on summiting Everest since she was 14 years old and has been working towards her goal ever since, taking many trips to the Himalayas and other peaks over the last five years.

She was originally training to summit the mountain in 2020 at the age of 17, but the pandemic forced her to push back her plans. But despite the two year delay, she was still able to become the youngest Australian to reach the peak. 

As if that wasn’t enough, the very day after tackling Everest, Gaby re-entered the ‘death zone’ (heights above 8,000m) to climb Lhoste, the world’s fourth highest mountain at 8,516 metres high.  

‘Once you get the desire to climb, it doesn’t really go away,’ Gaby told ABC News.

Gaby’s next stop is Europe where she plans to spend a year climbing. She also has her eyes set on tackling all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres, with three in the bag already. 

What a powerhouse!