A two-year-old Scottish toddler is believed to be the youngest person ever to reach a Mount Everest base camp.
Carter Dallas “climbed” to the south base camp in Nepal on his father Ross’ back alongside his mother Jade, multiple U.K. outlets report. The trek brought them 17,598 feet (5,364 metres) above sea level, a dizzying hike that can cause altitude sickness in even the most experienced climbers.
Ross, a former sales manager, said that his son coped with the adverse conditions better than he and his wife.
“We both got slight altitude sickness but he was absolutely fine!” Ross was quoted by The Scotsman newspaper.
“There were two medics at the villages before base camp and they tested his blood to check he was fine, his results were way better than ours — they were amazed!”
The family of three made it to base camp on Oct. 25.
Of course, no one can scale a mountain without some training, and Carter is no exception. The hardy little toddler has been regularly practicing breathing techniques with his parents and the whole family also does ice bath plunges together.
But surprisingly, the potentially record-setting hike was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
“We basically did it on a whim,” Ross said. “Within 24 hours of touching down in Kathmandu we started the trek.”
Ross and Jade did the journey in normal running shoes with Carter strapped to Ross’ back.
The family are in the midst of a year-long vacation exploring Asia. The Glasgow residents rented out their home, bought three one-way tickets in August 2023 and have been travelling ever since.
So far, they’ve visited India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, Malaysia and Thailand. For Carter’s birthday, the Dallas family travelled to Singapore and brought the toddler to Universal Studios. Next stop is Cambodia, Ross says.
Carter has been loving lapping up all the different cultures he has been exposed to, and his father notes that he’s developed a taste for fish curries, chicken feet and even crocodile.
“He’ll say ‘sawadika’ and ‘namaste’ — he’s picking up the lingo,” Ross said. “We love that he has been exposed to different cultures and has been playing with all the kids in small villages, it’s really opening his mind up.”
“The one thing he’s loved the most is hearing the Islamic call to prayer!” the proud papa added.
If Carter’s world record is confirmed, he would best current record holder Zara, a dual Czech and Canadian citizen, who climbed to the south base camp of Everest at age four. She was accompanied by her father, David Sifra, and seven-year-old brother.
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