A Melbourne teenager has become the youngest Australian to climb to the top of the world.

Bianca Adler has reached the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal during her second attempt up the world’s tallest mountain.

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The hike takes between six to nine weeks to complete, with Adler leaving for her record breaking trip at the beginning of April.

On Wednesday, just before 2.20am local time, the 18-year-old and her guides Pemba and Ngdu finally made it to the 8,849 m peak.

Speaking with her father from the top of the mountain, she said she felt “really good” but acknowledged this was only half the journey.

“(I feel) really good, but the weather is really bad,” she said on the call.

Adler, who grew up climbing mountains in the French Alps, has since descended to camp two and continues to make her way down the mountain with her guides and parents watching over her.

“On the summit and climbing up, I felt amazing, but coming down is tough,” she said in a blog post written by her mother Fiona Adler.

“I’m just trying to take it one step at a time.

“It’s so beautiful.”

Adler’s first attempt at climbing Everest in May 2025 led to her turning back 400m from the top after strong winds, creeping frostbite and illness forced her to put her life first.

Both her parents have previously summitted Mount Everest and Adler has made it to the top of other major mountains.

Accompanied by her father for the majority of the trek, Adler’s mother helicoptered into base camp to see her daughter achieve her goal.

Helicoptering straight to base camp saves about eight days of trekking, however is not recommended due to the high risk of altitude sickness.

Fiona made the decision after preparing for the altitude by conducting acclimatisation from the family home in Melbourne in a simulated altitude tent.

Climbing Mount Everest can be extremely costly, with prices’s usually ranging between $40,000 and over $100,00.

Some of this money goes towards government climbing permits, which can cost over $10,000, as well as local medical and environmental fees.

It is not the first time Adler made headlines after she broke the Guinness World Record to become the youngest woman to climb Nepal’s Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, back in 2024 at just 16 years old.

The Brighton student, who is currently completing her VCE, said her next adventure will now be finishing high school.

Climbing Everest has become a subject of controversy in recent decades due to concerns about overcrowding, commercialisation, safety, environmental issues, ethical dilemmas and more.

The number of people attempting the climb has grown significantly, causing human traffic jams that puts the lives of mountaineers and Nepalese guides at risk.

The mountain is estimated to be enveloped in about 50 tonnes of waste and hundreds of bodies.

For years, tourism up Everest was largely made up of Western guiding companies charging climbers tens of thousands of dollars per person while paying Nepalese guides — who often performed the most dangerous, important and labour-intensive work — a pittance.

In recent times, control over climbing activity on the mountain has been increasingly transferred to Nepalis and local Sherpa guides, who are now paid more and granted greater respect.