Brave boy on top of the world
A NINE- year- old US boy has become the youngest person in recorded history to reach the summit of Argentina’s Aconcagua mountain, which at 6962m is the tallest peak in the western and southern hemispheres.
Tyler Armstrong of Yorba Linda, California, reached the summit on Christmas Eve with his father, Kevin, and a Tibetan sherpa, Lhawang Dhondup, who has climbed Mt Everest multiple times.
Aconcagua’s sheer precipices and bitter cold have claimed more than 100 climbers’ lives. ‘‘ You can really see the world’s atmosphere up there,’’ Tyler said.
‘‘All the clouds are under you, and it’s really cold. It doesn’t look anything like a kid’s drawing of a mountain.
‘‘It’s probably as big as a house at the summit, and then it’s a sheer drop.’’
Only 30 per cent of the 7000 people who obtain permits to climb Aconcagua each year make the summit, said Nicolas Garcia, who handled their logistics from below.
The family had to persuade an Argentine judge that Tyler could safely accomplish the feat.