Sydney - Two Australians are close enough to the summit of Mount Everest to dream of becoming the first mother and daughter to conquer the world's tallest mountain, their support team said Friday. Cheryl Bart and her 23-year-old daughter Nikki set out April 1 and are hopeful of reaching the top of the 8,850-metre peak on Saturday.
"They have put up with conditions of minus-30-degree temperatures," Telstra spokesman Peter Habib told AAP news agency. "But they are very close now to reaching the top and, last time we spoke to them, they were in high spirits."
Phone company Telstra is their principal sponsor.
The Barts have climbed Australia's Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 metres), Antarctica's Vinson Massif (4,897 metres), South America's Aconcagua (6,962 metres) Africa's Kiliminjaro (5,895 metres), North America's McKinley-Denali (6,195 metres) and Europe's Elbrus (5,642 metres).
Habib said that climbing Everest would "make them the first mother and daughter team to not only get to the top of Everest, but to also reach the top of the tallest mountain in each of the seven continents."
