28 March 2023 , 21:02
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A remarkable young mountaineer has managed to scale the equivalent height of Mount Everest EIGHT times, before his ninth birthday.
Intrepid Charlie Batham, 8, has climbed more than 232,260ft (70,792m) after summiting over 200 different peaks in just under four years across the UK.
He said: “I love doing it to explore and tick the peaks off, and I love seeing the different animals and wildlife that we wouldn’t find at home."
The real-life “mountain goat” caught the bug for adventure when he turned five and asked his parents if he could reach a summit to celebrate his big day.
Charlie and his parents at the top of Ben Nevis (Paul Batham / SWNS)He has since conquered Britain’s tallest peaks - including Scafell Pike (3,210ft) in the Lake District, Yr Wyddfa (previously Snowdon, 3,560ft) in North Wales, and Ben Nevis (4,413ft) in the Scottish Grampians.
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Charlie bagged his eighth ‘Everest’ just over a week ago on Chrome Hill, in the Peak District, with his father Paul Batham, 54, who logs the heights he’s climbed.
But the proud dad thinks he’s actually covered far more ground than he’s recorded after he gave up documenting mountains they’d climbed more than once.
Charlie has also conquered Scafell Pike (Paul Batham / SWNS)
Charlie has been an enthusiastic climber since he was five years old (Scott Merrylees / SWNS)Paul said: “If there’s anything to climb, he’ll climb it regardless of whether it’s 200ft or 2000ft - he’s like a mountain goat.
"At five years old we couldn’t stop him and even now, he’s the same. Sometimes if we’re going anywhere he’ll lead me, and I’ll have to follow him up the routes now.
"We go up to the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales pretty much every weekend, and he just climbs and climbs, so I don’t even put all of them down anymore."