Texas 7-year-old becomes youngest girl to climb Mount Kilimanjaro

Another one of the Mount Kilimanjaro records was smashed! A 7-year-old Texas girl made history last month when she became the youngest girl to ever climb the mountain.

According to Austin360, Montannah Kenney of Austin climbed the 19,341-foot mountain with her mother, Hollie Kenney, a former professional triathlete. Montannah’s father died when she was three years old, so the two decided to climb the peak in his honor.

Montannah told Austin360, “The higher I go, the closer I am to him in heaven.”

Read also: ‘The higher I go, the closer I am to him in heaven’: Seven-year-old from Texas becomes the youngest girl to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, hiking in memory of her late father

Montannah came close to becoming the youngest guy or female to ever summit Mount Kilimanjaro, according to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro. She prepared by trekking with her mum around the Austin region.

Two other 7-year-olds have climbed Kilimanjaro: Keats Boyd and Cash Callahan. According to the website, Keats was the first, but it’s unclear if he was older or younger than Montannah. Cash, on the other hand, was a month her junior when he reached the summit.

Related: The oldest person to climb Kilimanjaro