73-year-old Japanese becomes oldest woman to scale Everest

Kathmandu, May 19: A 73-year-old

has made history by becoming the oldest woman to scale the world's highest mountain,

, topping a record, she herself set a decade ago.

Tamae Watanabe, set foot on top of the world today, reaching the Everest's summit at 8,848 metre, from the tough northern side in Tibet along with another Japanese Norriyuki Muraguchi and three Sherpa guides, according to the Asian Trekking which organised the expedition.

Three other Sherpa guides who scaled the peak are Mingma Sherpa, Pharu Nunu Sherpa and Phurba Sherpa. The official said that the team had set out for the summit yesterday evening and successfully scaled the summit at 7 am, local time, today, after a night long ascent.

Watanabe became the oldest woman to scale Everest when she climbed the peak in 2002 at the age of 63. Her record stood till she bettered it.

The oldest male climber to scale Everest is a Nepalese Min Bahadur Sherpa, who reached the top at the age of 77. He had climbed the Everest in 2007.

Like Watanabe, Min Bahadur too has announced his intentions to make it atop Everest again in 2012 at the age of 82.

PTI