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Sky's the Limit for 5-Year-Old Hiker

Weekends of tea parties and play dates aren't in the forecast for 5-year-old Yunona Bukasov. She's too busy scaling some of the world's highest mountains.

Despite her young age, the Salt Lake City resident has already summited some of the world's highest peaks, including central California's Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental United States with a summit of 14,496 feet.

Yunona's father, Rostislav Bukasov, told ABCNews.com that Yunona's extraordinary hiking abilities were not noticed overnight.

After a series of successful hikes during the past two years, including Utah's 11,300-foot Mount Pfeiferhorn and 11,750-foot Mount Timpanogos, and even Mount Olympus in Greece, at 9,000 feet, her parents marveled at her unique skill for her age.

"Each time Yunona beat our expectations," Bukasov said from his office at the University of Utah, where he and his wife, Olena, are both Ph.D. students. "What for many adults is perceived as too dangerous, is fun for her."

Yunona, who turned 5 in June, is a prodigy in more ways than one. The little girl can read in two languages, recognize about 50 countries on a globe and name most of their capitals, and add and subtract four-digit numbers, according to her father.

Posted by: SoulRiser
Source Article

Posted in: News on August 1, 2008 @ 12:00 AM

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