LA NACIÓN (Costa Rica)
SAN JOSE – Costa Rica’s claims to fame include beautiful beaches, a stable democracy, a greasy pigskin specialty called “chicharrónes,” a couple of World Cup appearances and… as of this week, membership in the exclusive “Mount Everest Club.”
Costa Rican mountaineer Warner Rojas reached the 8,848-meter (29,029-foot) summit of Everest Thursday night, making him the first “Tico” – as people from the tiny Central American country are called – to reach the world’s highest point, La Nación proudly reported.
“Very, very tired. But happy,” Rojas said upon his return to base camp.
Rojas was one of seven climbers in a team led by the Jagged Globe trekking company. The Costa Rican’s feat comes just days after four climbers died on the Himalayan peak after getting caught up in a “traffic jam” of more than 200 hikers.
Tropical Costa Rica’s tallest mountain, Cerro Chirripó, is 3,819 meters (12,530 feet) tall, less than half the height of Everest.