Sri Lankan Johann Peries reached the summit of Mt. Everest on the morning May 22 becoming the first Sri Lankan man to ascend to the pinnacle of the world’s tallest mountain.
The adventurer proudly unfurled the Sri Lankan flag at the summit while dedicating his successful expedition to all Sri Lankans who supported him in this arduous endeavour.
The ‘Climb Everest with Johann’ campaign carried out online gave all well-wishers an opportunity to sponsor each of more than 80,000 steps that took him to the summit of Mount Everest. “I felt such a sense of deep pride for my country while flying the Sri Lankan flag at the summit. It was an indescribable feeling. My first attempt to climb Everest was a dream, but on this second attempt, the dream was even bigger - it had to happen. This time I knew what to expect - I was in better physical condition and mentally fit to take up the challenge”, he said.
This was his second attempt at scaling Everest. His first attempt which was in April 2016 when he and Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, the first Sri Lankan woman to scale mount Everest, took up the challenge.
He was just 448 metres short of reaching the summit at the time. “I hope to share his story of overcoming daunting challenges and never giving up on my dreams with as many Sri Lankans as possible. I want nothing more than to inspire other Sri Lankans. Nothing is impossible”, he declared while addressing the media at the Hilton Hotel in Colombo on Wednesday.
New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to conquer Mount Everest.