Bonita Norris, the youngest British woman to climb Mount Everest is launching a new car with a series of racy photographs.
The 22-year-old risked frostbite, hypothermia and altitude sickness to achieve her dream of scaling the 29,029ft peak on May 17 this year.
But the stunning media arts graduate is not resting on her laurels and now plans to lead an all-woman expedition to the South Pole in 2012.
To fund the expedition she has teamed up with car giant Nissan to launch their new Juke car, which has been designed, engineered and built in Britain.
Care worker Bonita, from Wokingham, Berkshire, yesterday (Tues) told how she is driven towards challenges by her ”spirit of adventure”.
She said: ”All of a sudden my achievements are up for public debate, which means I have to constantly defend what I’ve done.
”But ever since the first morning I woke up after reaching the top of Everest it feels like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
”Even the average person on the street has it in them to go and do a challenge. It comes down to whether you allow yourself to take that next step.
”Beyond the South Pole, I want to keep doing things that challenge me. There are so many unclimbed mountains and undiscovered areas in the world.
”I want to get into more cutting edge activities and genuinely test my limits. I want to explore the unknown, where people have not been before.”
Bonita was inspired to climb Everest after reading survival expert Bear Grylls’s account of his own record-breaking climb at the age of 23.
The media arts graduate from Royal Holloway, University of London, ”thought she was going to die” during her first training runs.
But despite warnings from her family and a battle against an eating disorder she completed her training and conquered Everest in May this year.
Bonita is now working as a care worker with children who suffer from learning difficulties while she raises sponsorship for her next challenge, to the South Pole in 2012.
In a high profile and lucrative sponsorship deal, she has now become the face of the Nissan’s new crossover car the Juke.
The all-British car, which is a cross between a sports car and a 4×4, was built at Nissan’s plant in Sunderland and goes on sale on September 24 this year.
Paul Willcox, Managing Director of Nissan Motor GB, believes Bonita is ”one of a new generation” of British athletes.
He said: ”We selected Bonita to support the launch of Juke due to what she represents.
”Her tenacity, drive and sheer determination to go beyond the limit is an inspiration to us all.
”She’s one of a new generation of achievers and athletes that Britain should be proud of.
”We decided against traditional celebrity endorsement to launch Juke and instead opted for someone who represents genuine achievement.”
Incredible young woman.