A father has spoken of his fear and pride after helping his 13-year-old son climb Europe’s highest summit, Mount Elbrus.
Former Royal Marine Mike Byrne, of Stonehaven, climbed the mountain on Russia’s border with Georgia, with his son Liam now the youngest Scot to have scaled the peak earlier this month.
The pair, part of a group of six, battled freezing temperatures and thunderstorms to conquer the 18,510ft summit.
Mr Byrne, 44, said the Russian experience had “really matured” his son, a pupil at Mackie Academy.
He added: “He just did amazing, there were areas that were very hard. You’re an easy target for lightning.
“Guys lose fingers and toes all the time. People obviously die in these things and I worried about that.”
Liam has now conquered two of the “seven summits”, the highest peak in each of the seven continents, having climbed Kilimanjaro in Africa in 2013.
The father and son were led by Charlie Paton, a professional expedition leader and former Royal Marine from Aberdeen.
Mr Paton, 44, said the group also dealt with the death of another walker on the mountain while the north-east climbers made their way to the top.
He said: “It’s up to people to prepare properly and use commonsense really. The guy was told not to go up any further. He chose to ignore the advice and, unfortunately, he died.”