KATHMANDU: Last Sunday, 24-year-old Arjun Vajpai from Noida scaled Kanchenjunga (8,586m), the worldŽs thirdhighest peak. The feat made him the youngest mountaineer in the world to summit six peaks above 8,000 metres, including Everest, at 16. But his father, retired Colonel Sanjiv Vajpai, is proud of a far more pragmatic victory. `After 11expeditions, all his fingers and toes are safe,` he says. `We consider it a big achievement because if you meet international climbers, youŽll find many have a missing toe or three fingers cut off.` Not that Arjun hasnŽt had hair-raising adventures. During the summit push on Kangchenjunga, his oxygen bottle malfunctioned, his lips turned blue and parched,...
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