Stùc an Lochain, one of the two munros Daniel climbed to complete his round. Photo: G Laird CC-BY-SA-2.0
A nine-year-old boy walked into the record books this weekend as he summited two Perthshire mountains.
Glaswegian Daniel Smith became the youngest person to ascend all 282 munros, beating the previous record of Cumbrian Ben Fleetwood, who achieved the feat aged 10.
Daniel and his dad Mark ticked off the two Glen Lyon peaks Stùc an Lochain and Meall Buidhe on Saturday.
The schoolboy began walking the hills at the age of three and summited his first 3,000-footer when he was six.
Mark Smith has accompanied his son on all of the trips, which include the Inaccessible Pinnacle on the Skye Cuillin, a rock climb graded either Very Difficult or Moderate, depending on the route taken.
Daniel told STV before the successful ascents that he thinks about what is going through his father’s mind on the mountains. “I think about the views and how my dad is doing and if he’s a bit tense about what’s going to happen at the top, if it’s going to be cloudy or sunny,” he said.
Daniel added he doesn’t often get scared.
Jhimmy
25 February 2013Sorry, but I don't believe records should be recorded for under 18 year olds. He might be young, but I doubt he drove to the Munros by himself, I doubt he navigated to the tops by himself, he I even doubt he made his own sandwiches or bought his own walking gear...etc.
It's great that he loves the mountains, I was his age when I went to the Lake District and fell in love with that place. Let's let kids enjoy themselves rather then push them to be record breakers. It's now getting silly with 14 year olds wanting to sail single handed around the world or Climb over dead bodies on Everest.
IanK
26 February 2013I'm not sure records of any description should be part of mountaineering.
I hope this exposure to celebrity doesn't harm the lad in the future.
Pete
27 May 2013Give the lad credit. I'm sure he would have been quite capable of telling his parents ' Please Dad, I dont wish to carry on or do it'..
Dont forget 2 girls of 5 acheived their 50th on Ben Lomond a few years back.
Your comments are fair enough, but you dont know the entire story.
Well done young man!