American tourist sets world record as oldest climber on Mount Kilimanjaro

TANZANIA (eTN) – An American tourist has broke the record to become the oldest person to reach the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro and have his name entered in the Guinness World Records as the oldest known

TANZANIA (eTN) – An American tourist has broke the record to become the oldest person to reach the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro and have his name entered in the Guinness World Records as the oldest known climber to reach the highest peak in the African continent.

The American national, Mr. Richard Byerley from Washington state, took his climbing expedition to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro some days ago, and successfully reached the peak late last week.

Accompanied by his grandchildren, Bren and Annie, Mr. Byerley conquered Kilimanjaro, reaching Africa’s highest peak late last week after passing through Machame Route, one of the hardest passages to the mountain’s peak.

The 84-year-old octogenarian’s climbing expedition was escorted by guides and 14 porters, and all faced no health problems while climbing the mountain.

Mr. Byerley was stronger on his way to the top of the mountain than the escorting team. The current oldest Guinness World Record holder to the summit of Kilimanjaro on foot is a retired British man, Professor George Solt, who earned the title last year at the age of 82.

However, it is purported that 87-year-old Frenchman, Valtee Daniel reached the summit of Kilimanjaro, but his ascent was not documented.

Byerleyโ€™s attempt to complete this feat was made possible by all set arrangements by Robin Paschall, founder of the US-based Adventures Within Reach, a tour operator located in Boulder, Colorado, specializing in customized and affordable adventures.

Paschall, a Kilimanjaro booking specialist, realized that a successful ascent would land Byerley a place in the Guinness World Records, and, therefore, her company was arranging to document Byerleyโ€™s climb in order to fulfill the stringent criteria required by Guinness World Records.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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