Seven-year-old Montannah Kenney climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, to honor and be closer to her late father, breaking a world record in the process.
Montannah is now the youngest female to ever climb the peak.
Montannah’s mother, Hollie Kenney, hiked with her, and the pair fought rain, snow and the effects of high altitude to scale the 19,341-foot mountain, CBS News reported.
According to the record book, another 7-year-old, Cash Callahan, also made it to the top this year, however her age — precisely 2865 days at the time of her ascent — made her 41 days older than Callahan.
“Montannah beat the previous female record holder, Roxy Getter from Florida, who was eight years old when she got to the top in July 2018,” according ClimbMountKilimanjaro.com, the website that keeps track of Kilimanjaro climbers.
But she didn’t do it to get her name in a record book — she did it for her dad, who died soon after her third birthday.
"I wanted to be closer with my dad," Montannah told CBS News. "I wanted to do fun adventures with my mom and learn about Mt. Kilimanjaro."
When mom Hollie brought up the idea of making the trek with her sister, Montannah said she wanted to join in.
“She told me, 'Mommy I want to do it with you,'" Hollie told CBS News.
They originally decided to make the climb in 2019, but the duo moved up their plans when they learned of the Florida 8-year-old girl’s record-setting ascent. They stepped up their training and preparations.
"We got our act together," Hollie Kenney said, CBS reported. "It fell together so easily, and beautifully."
Despite an intense training regimen, the climb was an eye-opener for the duo.
"It was way steeper than we thought," Hollie told the network. "We didn't know what was a cliff and what was a cloud. That was big eye opener."
Montannah’s moxie earned her kudos and provided inspiration on social media.
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