A nine-year old boy is the youngest to ever reach the top-most peak of South America, the Nation reports.
Tyler Armstrong said: "Most nine-year olds my age usually play video games." Tyler is the youngest person to ever reach the summit of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas. He climbed the mountain with his father and Tibetan Sherpa Lhawang Dhondup. "Any kid can really do this, all they have to do is try and set their mind to the goal." Armstrong reached the peak of the mountain on Christmas Eve.
Last year, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro - the highest peak in Africa. According to reports, more than 100 people have died while attempting to conquer Aconcagua which rises 6,962 miles or 22,84 feet above sea level. "You can really see the world's atmosphere up there. All the clouds are under you, and it's really cold," he shared. "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 sheer drop." Kevin Armstrong, Tyler's father said that his son trained twice a day for six months before attempting to climb America's highest mountain.
"Most people think we as parents are pushing Tyler to do this, when it's completely the opposite" Due to his age, Tyler needed a special authorization from a judge in Argentina to go on the mountain climbing adventure. Kevin admitted that the judge took into account the fact that their entire team was raising money for muscular dystrophy research. Before him, the youngest boy who was able to conquer the mountain was Matthew Moniz, ten, in 2008.
