World record for Romanian mountaineer Crina COCO Popescu!

Mt. Sidley - Antarctica

First woman that successfully ended the 7 Volcanoes Circuit.

Romanian 16 years old Crina COCO Popescu is the youngest mountaineer worldwide and also the first woman that finishes the Volcanic 7 Summits Circuit – reaching the summits of the highest Volcanoes on 7 continents! The Romanian alpinist representing the Romanian Mountaineering and Climbing Federation finished on January 24, in Antarctica, the Circuit by climbing Mount Sidley – 4285 m– the highest Volcano in Antarctica. Coco is also the first woman to ever climb on Mount Sidley.

Coco Popescu climbed Mt. Sidley in Antarctica as part of the first mountaineer expedition on this Arctic volcano, with Russian Alex Abramov, Italian Mario Trimeri and American Scott Woolams.

“We knew we were the first team to climb this summit, and we felt this even better when we were searching the best way up”, Crina Coco Popescu said when she came back down. “We searched the ridge, eyes on the altimeter, to catch the highest point. We found two points, measuring approximately the same, and those were the highest. On the ridge we were tied by rope, so we would have reached the peak in a specific line. But we’ve stopped and waited one another so we can step in the same time on the summit, sharing the joy of the premiere”, she added.

Coco Popescu took part between December 24, 2010 and January 26, 2011 in the international expedition “Antarctica 2010-2011”, conducted by the Russian mountaineer Alex Abramov. The expedition had its starting point in Punta Arenas, the Chilean Patagonia.

Romanian mountaineer’s objectives in this expedition have been climbing the highest Volcano of the continent – Mount Sidley and the highest mountain – Mount Vinson.

Before finishing the 7 Volcanoes Circuit, on January 4, Romanian Crina Coco Popescu, stepped on Mount Vinson Summit. For Coco this meant reaching the sixth summit of the 7 Summits Circuit – the summits of the 7 continents – which she intends to finish before she turns 18. By reaching Mount Vinson, Coco establishes new World Records too. She is the youngest mountaineer to reach Mt. Vinson. On this summit she climbed with Russian mountaineers Alex Abramov and Max Bogatyrev from “7 Summits Club” and Italian Mario Trimeri.

Coco establishes new World Records in Antarctica:

• First woman to finish 7 Volcanoes;
• Youngest woman on Mt. Vinson;

About Crina COCO Popescu:

Crina Popescu, born in Râsnov, Romania, is climbing since she was 6 years old;

She climbed Dente Del Giante (the Alps), up to 4000 meters when she was 11. Olympus, Ararat and Mont Blanc followed;

At 12 years old she climbed Kalapatar in Nepal;

At 13 years old she reached some more summits: Kazbek in the Caucasus, Damavand and Alam Kuh in Iran;

In late 2008 she climbed Ojos Del Salado in Atacama, the highest volcano in the world;

In January 2009 she climbed Aconcagua – South America’s giant. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus followed;

January 2010 she had the expedition in Oceania where she climbed Kosciuszko, Carstensz Pyramid and Giluwe, after that in North America Pico de Orizaba & McKinley;

About Seven Volcanoes

The Seven Volcanoes circuit means reaching highest volcanoes on each continent:

• Elbrus, m. 5642 – Europe;
• Kilimanjaro, m. 5895 – Africa;
• Damavand, m. 5671 – Asia;
• Giluwe, m. 4368- Oceania;
• Ojos Del Salado, m. 6893 – South America;
• Pico De Orizaba, m. 5636 – North America
• Sidley, 4285 – Antarctica.

The first mountaineers that finished the circuit are Romanian Crina Coco Popescu, 16 yo and Italian Mario Trimeri, 58.