A PENN teenager has described passing dead bodies and battling temperatures of minus 50 degrees to become the youngest British female to climb the world’s tallest mountain.

19-year-old Leanna Shuttleworth and her father Mark, 49, reached the 8,848 metre summit of Mount Everest on May 20 following a nine hour climb.

The pair, who spent two months on the Nepalese peak, battled harrowing 60mph winds and temperatures of minus 50 degrees fahrenheit leaving their water bottles, oxygen masks and even a team members corneas frozen.

Reaching the peak meant the former Pipers Corner pupil has also become the youngest British female to have completed the Seven Summit Challenge.

The impressive task saw Leanna and her father climb the highest mountain in each of the world’s continents, Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mt Elbrus in Russia, Mt Denali in Alaska, Mt Aconcagua in Argentina, Mt Kosciuszko in Australia, Vinson Massif in Antarctica and finishing with the most challenging peak, Mt Everest.

The teen has described passing the bodies of four mountaineers who died whilst making the dangerous climb during a busy weather window.

She said: "It was really tragic on Everest. That was obviously the worst part of the trip, it kind of ruins the mountain for you. I would never go back to Everest and I don't have fond memories of it particularly because it was horrific.

"The day before we summited 175 people all went up for the summit.

"That meant that at Hilary Step, which is a really narrow section, I think it's about 180 vertical feet from the summit, everyone got stuck there for two maybe three hours.

"People were having extraordinarily long summit days so they were running out of oxygen which resulted in, I think, some of them getting high altitude cerebral edema - it's when fluids go into your brain."

To avoid the crowds, Leanna's trusted guides suggested the group wait until the next day to summit the peak despite the worsening weather conditions.

She said: "You don't really realise it when you get to the top, I mean it's a relief getting there and getting there safely but you just want to turn around and get back down because it's so cold."

But the intrepid teens achievements don't stop there, she has raised over £50,000 for the Vitiligo Society on behalf of her mother who suffers from the skin condition.

She is now looking forward to starting Nottingham University in September where she will be studying veterinary science.