Crina ‘Coco’ Popescu states that she completed the V7S with her ascent of Mount Sidley on 24th January 2011.
However, my attention has been drawn to an article on this website. The article followed the tragic death of her younger sister, Dor, in an avalanche on or about 13th April 2017. [If you do not speak Romanian, then you will have to use Google Translate or equivalent,]
The premise of the article is that Ms Popescu’s father is a “tyrant”. He certainly seems to have been the driving force behind his daughter’s mountaineering exploits. Indeed, this behaviour appears to have also related to his daughter, Dor. The article alleges that he drove them for his own self-aggrandisement and that he engaged in unsuitable behaviour towards them, lacked experience/qualifications and acted in disregard of normal safety standards and in breach of regulations.
Now, I do not know if all of this is true or not.
However, the article (and a blog to which it makes reference – and which is no longer available on the internet) does relate to Ms Popescu’s ascent of Ojos del Salado. The article states that the ascent of Ojos was in 2009. However, the record on the Seven Summits Club website refers to 28th December 2008 as having been the summit date. At that point, Ms Popescu would have been 14 years and 25 days. According to her Wikipedia entry in Romanian she was born on 3rd December 1994.
Both her blog and the altitude-club.ro site describe the Ojos summit attempt as involving three climbers (including Ms Popescu). The group started out from the Tejos refuge at about 4am. One of the party turned after only around 45 minutes. Ms Popescu and the other reached the crater rim where the other climber also decided to turn.
So, this is where the website referred to above expresses scepticism. Would it be likely that a 14 year old could possibly make the final ascent across the crater, up some very blocky terrain and then a climb at over 6750m and a final narrow ridge to the summit? Would her companion have left a 14 year old to her own devices in those circumstances? Not only is there the physical element, but also there is the mental side of matters. Prior to the climb Ms Popescu’s highest peak was Damavand, altogether an easier prospect and 1,000m lower.
Ms Popescu has no summit photos to offer. Her father did not help her cause by the apparently evasive responses alleged to have been provided by him to the authors of the piece on the website. Perhaps he was merely being naturally protective of his daughter. This would have been reasonable if he was asked some of the questions in the aftermath of his other daughter’s death.
I am not in a position to judge as to her Ojos summit. But Crina ‘Coco’ Popescu has certainly achieved some significant climbs in the context of the Seven Summits and the Volcanic Seven Summits.