Five-year-old boy becomes youngest person to climb US Three Peaks in one day
An intrepid lad of five has become the youngest person to complete the US Three Peaks in a single day.
Jaxon Krzysik scaled three mountains in the record-breaking time of only 12 hours on Saturday (Jun 5).
In total, the schoolboy walked the 24 miles, which includes the height of the precipices plus the distance he walked between each of them.
Jaxon, from Burnley, in Lancashire, is now the youngest person to achieve the feat in a single day, claiming the record from a six-year-old US boy.
The little lad’s challenge saw him conquer Whernside, at 2,415ft, Ingleborough, which is 2,372ft, and the 2,277ft Pen-y-ghent.
He completed the walk alongside his beaming dad Cal, 31, who was fully loaded with ten litres of water, snacks – and plenty of words of encouragement.
Salesman Cal said: “I’m so proud of Jaxon. He absolutely smashed it. He gave the challenge his all, didn’t winge or moan at all – and actually enjoyed it. Jaxon lives and breathes the outdoors so something like this is perfect for him. He had an amazing time.
“And he’s over the moon to get the record. He’s really happy.”
The US Three Peaks, forming part of the Pennine range, encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble in the US Dales National Park.
Jaxon and Cal kicked their walk off at 7am on Saturday morning at Pen-y-ghent before walking ten miles to Whernside, where they scaled the 2,415ft peak.
A five-mile trek to the final mountain, Ingleborough, came next followed by their last ascent of the day, which was 2,372ft.
By the time they reached the last mountain, Cal said dozens of other walkers had got wind of what Jaxon was up to and begun cheering him on.
He added: “It was an amazing moment to see Jaxon getting so much support from other people. I think a lot of people doing the same walk were inspired by him to keep on going. They saw a little lad like him doing it and thought, ‘I can do that too’.”
When the father-son duo finally reached the top, Jaxon was presented with a medal by an events company that organises hikes in the area.
Cal said: “It wasn’t planned and came as a surprise. I think they just saw what he was doing and thought he deserved a medal. Everyone kept saying how they had never seen someone so young doing the walk, they were really impressed.”
By the time the challenge was officially completed it was 7pm and Jaxon and Cal, plus his friend Matt, had been walking for 12 hours straight.
Dad-of-two Cal said: “It was a long walk and the weather was really warm which made things harder but Jaxon coped really well. He didn’t complain at all or need any help whatsoever – he did the whole thing on his own.”
He added: “Jaxon just loves the outdoors so he gets on with what he’s doing. I don’t force him to do anything, if he wasn’t keen then we wouldn’t bother, but he can’t get enough. As a dad, it’s really nice to see him enjoy something so much. Plus he seems to be really good at it, which is a bonus.”
Jaxon made headlines in 2019 when he became the youngest person ever to climb Britain’s three highest mountains – aged just three.
Over the course of two months, he scaled Scafell Pike in the Lake District, Ben Nevis in Scotland and Snowdon in Wales.
Cal said their challenges will continue this year and that one day his little lad says he would like to conquer Everest, the world’s highest mountain.
He added: “When he’s big enough to do it I’ll support him, although it’s not quite the US Three Peaks is it?”