Tazi, Youngest Moroccan To Climb Turkey’s Tallest Mountain

Youssef Tazi, a 12-year-old Moroccan boy, successfully ascended Mount “Ararat,” Turkey’s tallest mountain, located on the border between Turkey and Armenia, on Sunday. Tazi became the first Moroccan youngster to climb a peak higher than 5,000 meters after a five-day journey from the Turkish city of Doğubayazıt, reported Morocco’s News Agency (MAP).
Omar Tazi, his father and companion on the climb, told MAP, “I am proud of my 12-year-old son’s exceptional achievement, and his enthusiasm, courage, and determination to hoist the Moroccan national flag on Turkey’s highest mountain peak.” He said that the journey through the mountains had been “full of lessons and challenges.”
“Youssef is the youngest Moroccan climber to have defied fear, the cold, and the lack of oxygen, to surmount this 5,000 meter challenge,” he added.
The Tazi father and son team spent 14 months preparing physically, psychologically, and medically for the trip, having already scaled many peaks in Morocco. That prep involved medical checkups, a special diet, mental preparation, and continually adapting to higher altitudes.