Indian teenager becomes youngest female climber to summit Everest from south side
Sixteen-year-old Nisha Sasikumar now sets her sights on Denali as part of an ambitious Seven Summits quest.
At an age when most teenagers are still in secondary school, Nisha Sasikumar has climbed the world’s highest mountain—and entered the record books.
The 16-year-old from Tamil Nadu became the youngest female climber to summit Mount Everest via the mountain’s southern route from Nepal, according to her expedition organiser, Elite Exped. She reached the 8,849-metre summit on May 25 and descended safely. On summit day, she was 16 years and 80 days old.
Nisha was accompanied by Sherpa guides Tenji Sherpa, Phura Dorji Sherpa and Phursang Sherpa.
Born in Chennai in March 2010, Nisha’s ascent establishes a new record for the youngest female climber to reach Everest’s summit via the southern route. The overall record for the youngest female climber to summit the mountain remains with Malavath Poorna of India, who reached the top via the northern Tibetan side in 2014 at the age of 13 years and 11 months.
“Ever since I was a kid I was all about taking on challenges. I am an international karate champion and I love exploring sports—testing my limits is something I do often, and that is how I decided to climb Mt Everest,” she told Everest Chronicle.
For Nisha, Everest is not an endpoint but part of a broader Seven Summits ambition. She began the challenge in December last year and aims to complete it by December this year. “My goal is to be the youngest to complete the Seven Summits challenge,” she said.
She is due to depart for Denali, North America’s highest peak, on June 5. Completing Everest and Denali in the same season would amount to an unusually compressed schedule, even by the standards of elite mountaineering.
She has already demonstrated a taste for such objectives. In October 2025, aged 15 years, seven months and eight days, she became the youngest female climber to summit Carstensz Pyramid, Oceania’s highest peak. The ascent, also organised by Elite Exped, was later recognised by the India Book of Records.
Like the Carstensz expedition, her Everest climb was undertaken alongside her father, Gendham Sasikumar. He suffered HAPE after a rotation, which prevented a summit push.
Nisha’s ascent comes amid growing interest among young climbers in high-altitude mountaineering. Yet few are attempting objectives as demanding—or as tightly scheduled—as Everest and Denali in a single season.
Nisha’s summit record
Kilimanjaro — Dec 2024 (did not summit; snowstorm)
Elbrus — Apr 2025
Kilimanjaro — Jun 2025
Kosciuszko — Oct 2025
Carstensz Pyramid — Oct 2025
Aconcagua — Jan 2026
Everest — May 2026
Upcoming:
Denali — Jun 2026
Vinson — Dec 2026
This article has been updated to correct factual error.
