A schoolboy has become the youngest British mountaineer to climb Mount Everest - at the age of just 16. George Atkinson, who turns 17 on Sunday, reached the 8,848m peak at 2am morning - making him the youngest ever Briton to stand on top of the world.
It comes less than a week after Irish man John Delaney buckled and died 50 meters before the top, not knowing his wife had just given birth to a baby girl back home. The earlier record was held by 17-year-old Johnny Collinson of the USA.
George’s mother Penny posted on his blog this morning: “George has done it. He reached the peak at about 8.15am Nepali time. He also became the youngest climber ever to have scaled the tallest peaks of each continent.
Everest has claimed the lives of more than 216 mountaineers, most lately that of John Delaney, 42, from Kilcock, Co Kildare. Rob Gauntlett, the 19-year-old climber who held the record for youngest Brit to scale Everest, reached the summit in 2006. But he disastrously died three years later in a climbing accident in Chamonix, France.
By climbing Everest, George also became the youngest climber to complete the Seven Summits - the highest mountain on each continent. He beat American Johnny Collinson who completed the challenge when he was 17 years and 296 days old.
The youngest person to climb Mount Everest is American Jordan Romero. He reached the top on May 22 last year aged 13 years and 10 months old. George completed his record-breaking climb to raise money for children's hospice charity Chase.
It comes less than a week after Irish man John Delaney buckled and died 50 meters before the top, not knowing his wife had just given birth to a baby girl back home. The earlier record was held by 17-year-old Johnny Collinson of the USA.
George’s mother Penny posted on his blog this morning: “George has done it. He reached the peak at about 8.15am Nepali time. He also became the youngest climber ever to have scaled the tallest peaks of each continent.
Everest has claimed the lives of more than 216 mountaineers, most lately that of John Delaney, 42, from Kilcock, Co Kildare. Rob Gauntlett, the 19-year-old climber who held the record for youngest Brit to scale Everest, reached the summit in 2006. But he disastrously died three years later in a climbing accident in Chamonix, France.
By climbing Everest, George also became the youngest climber to complete the Seven Summits - the highest mountain on each continent. He beat American Johnny Collinson who completed the challenge when he was 17 years and 296 days old.
The youngest person to climb Mount Everest is American Jordan Romero. He reached the top on May 22 last year aged 13 years and 10 months old. George completed his record-breaking climb to raise money for children's hospice charity Chase.
