Alyssa Azar with her father Glenn arrives in Toowoomba.

The 19-year-old, who ­returned to Toowoomba yesterday to receive a hero’s welcome, had dreamt of reaching the world’s tallest summit for more than a decade.

After two failed attempts each autumn since the age of 17, hampered by earthquakes and avalanches, Ms Azar last month finally made it to the peak. “It’s something I’ve dreamt about since I was about eight,” she said. “That one day I was going to climb Mount Everest.”

Supported by her family, Ms Azar said she had spent the past two weeks gathering her thoughts after completing the expedition on May 21.

When she finally made it to the summit, Ms Azar broke the record held by 21-year-old Rex Pemberton, who climbed the mountain in 2005. A book ­describing her expeditions is set to be launched in September.

Ms Azar recalled passing Melbourne lecturer Maria Strydom, who died from altitude sickness, on her descent but only later realised who she was.

“It was difficult,” she said, adding that there were no signs Dr Strydom was in trouble.

“You always think in hindsight — even though at that point it wasn’t too much of an issue — could we have done something, given her oxygen or tried to get her down to camp two for a rescue.”

The mountaineer, who enjoyed better weather conditions than on her previous expeditions in 2014 and 2015, said the toughest part of her quest was a long, hard day of trekking between base camp and camp two before her tilt at the summit. That’s where she suffered from most self-doubt.

“There’s a lot of moments where, honestly, you think ‘I’ve just got to get through the next 10 steps’,” she said. “It’s completely mental ... you just break it down into smaller pieces.”

She now has plans to complete the seven summits — the highest peaks on each continent — as well as another Everest tilt. She also spoke about leading Kokoda treks in the footsteps of her adventurer father Glenn.

The pair has discussed completing a father-daughter Everest expedition. “One half of us is keen and clearly capable,” Mr Azar said. “The other half is not so sure yet.”

Ms Azar left a photograph of her 12-year-old brother Christian, who has autism, on Everest’s peak and said she spent a large part of her 20 minutes on the summit reflecting on her preparation for the climb.

“I think it just makes it that much more special when you’re up there,” she said.

AAP