US boy, 9, scales South America's highest peak

BUENOS AIRES - It's no small feat to scale South America's tallest peak - especially when you are nine.

That's what Tyler Armstrong managed to do on Christmas Eve, joined by his father and other climbers - with special permission from authorities for the underaged adventurer.

Aconcagua soars almost 7,000 metres in the Andes on Argentina's Mendoza province along its border with Chile. Armstrong broke the record for the youngest person to scale Aconcagua, said the head of his expedition, Mr Nicolas Garcia, on local C5N television.

His mom, Mrs Priscilla Armstrong, wrote on the young climber's website: "Super proud of you honey! I can stop worrying now! Actually, you will probably keep worrying me if you keep being so adventurous! Great- more grey hair!" Earlier this year, Tyler scaled Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa's tallest peak at 5,900 metres.