Boy, 9, becomes youngest to climb Western Hemisphere's tallest mountain

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Tyler Armstrong, from Southern California, poses for a portrait as he arrives to a hotel in Mendoza, Argentina, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. The 9-year-old boy from has become the youngest person in recorded history to reach the summit of Argentina's Aconcagua mountain, the tallest peak in the Western and Southern hemispheres. (AP Photo/Claudio Gutierrez)


A nine-year-old American boy has become the youngest person to climb Argentina's 22,841ft-tall Aconcagua mountain.

Tyler Armstrong, from California, reached the summit of the tallest peak in the Western and Southern hemispheres on Christmas Eve.

He was accompanied by his father Kevin, who is an emergency medical technician, and Tibetan sherpa Lhawang Dhondup, who has climbed Mount Everest a number of times.

Argentinian mountain Aconcagua, Mendoza, Argentina, February 10, 2009. The Aconcagua, highest in the Americas, would measure 2.4 meters more than the 6964.4 meters set in 1989, according to new research conducted with technology systems advanced, published by Clarin newspaper on the date, June 14, 2012. Photo: STR/dpa/aa
Argentinian mountain Aconcagua, Mendoza, Argentina, February 10, 2009. The Aconcagua, highest in the Americas, would measure 2.4 meters more than the 6964.4 meters set in 1989, according to new research conducted with technology systems advanced, published by Clarin newspaper on the date, June 14, 2012. Photo: STR/dpa/aa



Speaking to AP, Tyler said: "You can really see the world's atmosphere up there. 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."

Aconcagua has claimed the lives of more than 100 climbers. Under-14s are not usually allowed to climb the peak and the family had to persuade an Argentine judge that Tyler could accomplish the climb safely.

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