BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A 9-year-old boy from Southern California has become the youngest person in recorded history to reach the summit of Argentina’s Aconcagua mountain, which at 22,841 feet is the tallest peak in the Western and Southern hemispheres.
Tyler Armstrong of Yorba Linda reached the summit on Christmas Eve with his father Kevin and a Tibetan sherpa, Lhawang Dhondup, his team announced Friday.
Only 30 percent of the 7,000 people who obtain permits to climb Aconcagua each year make the summit, said Nicolas Garcia, who handled the expedition’s logistics from the city of Mendoza.
No one under 14 is usually allowed. The Armstrongs hired a lawyer to make their case before an Argentine judge.
Aconcagua’s previous record-holder was Matthew Moniz of Boulder, who was 10 when he reached the summit in 2008.
