78-year-old becomes oldest woman to summit Mt. Rainer, breaking previous record [View all]

ASHFORD, Wash. (TND) — At 4 feet 11 inches tall and a robust 78 years old, Rose Vanderhoof became the oldest woman to successfully summit the 14,400 foot Mount Rainer, the tallest mountain in Washington state.

The record was previously held by then-77-year-old Bronka Sundstrom, who summited the mountain in 2002. However, the now-96-year-old attempted to break her own record at age 90, but she had to abandon the final summit due to weather concerns.

She's climbed to the base camp for Rainer summiters, the roughly 10,000 foot-elevation Camp Muir, dozens of times of year for the last several years according to the Washington Trails Association.

Vanderhoof attempted her summit two years ago but told a local news station in Washington state that the climb did not work out that year. As such, she was not trying to break Sundstrom's record when she set out earlier this month.

https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/78-year-old-becomes-oldest-woman-to-summit-mount-rainer-breaking-previous-record-rose-vanderhoof-climbing-training-conditioning-glaciers-altitude-sickness-bronka-sundstrom-weather-sherpas-volcano