I’m so proud, says father of boy, 4, after historic climb
A BRITISH four-year-old has become the youngest person to reach the summit of an 11,000ft mountain, scaling steep precipices and surviving extreme weather conditions to get there. Jackson Houlding and his sister, Freya, eight, spent two weeks camping in the wilderness of Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains, led by their father Leo, 41, an expert rock climber and former British Junior Indoor Climbing Champion, and mother Jessica, 42, a GP and outdoors enthusiast.
During the trip, Jackson became the youngest person to climb Pingora Peak, at a staggering 11,889ft, unaided, while Freya became the youngest to scale nearby Wolf ’s Head, at 12,165ft. The Wind River Range, where they spent two weeks climbing peaks, can be treacherous and is home to bears, insects and freezing temperatures at night. The family rented llamas to help carry their gear.
It comes a year after the children became the youngest to climb a 10,000ft mountain, Piz Badile on the border of Switzerland and Italy. Professional climber Leo, from Staveley, Cumbria, said: “I’m immensely proud of both my children and how far they’ve come. “Climbing comes with big risks, even with all the right equipment and experience. “Loose rocks and uneven terrain can be a big challenge, and [one] foot wrong could land you in a lot of trouble. “That’s why we [take] it slow and take the time to plan each climb down to the very last detail.” The long treks also proved tricky for the children, but Harry Potter audio books had kept them going, their parents said.