5-year-old becomes youngest Singaporean to conquer Everest base camp through ‘hard work and faith’

At just five years old, Abyan Imtiaz Irkiz has become the youngest Singaporean to reach Mount Everest base camp.

Abyan achieved the feat with his father, Zikri Ali, 41, on Monday – two days earlier than they had planned.

The father and son duo, who have been documenting their journey on an Instagram account under the handle “abyan.irkiz”, recalled the six gruelling months of training that led to this moment.

It was accompanied by a picture of the pair holding up a Singapore flag before a signboard welcoming visitors to Everest base camp.

“From countless climbs up and down 27 storeys to trekking through rain and thunderstorms for training sessions – every challenge has been worth it.

“This day, exactly two months before Abyan turns six years old, marks such a great achievement, and I’m sure we will never forget this day.”

This Singapore record was previously held by Om Madan Garg, a six-year-old boy who reached the Everest base camp on October 7, 2022.

Speaking to TODAY on April 19, on the eve of their trip, Zikri said that the idea for the climb occurred to him as he was reading about Om’s climb.

Incidentally, he and his family were in Nepal, where they just finished a 12km panoramic hike.

“[Abyan] managed to do quite well. And I was quite impressed actually,” said Zikri, who owns and runs a yoga studio with his wife.

“I was thinking to myself: Hmm, I think maybe he can do it [Everest base camp hike]. With some training, he can definitely do it.”

The father of three said that Abyan had, in a sense, learned to climb before he could even walk.

While the little one learned to walk properly without support at about age 13 or 14 months, he was already crawling up playground slopes at nine months old.

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