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Webster Groves Man Certified as Oldest to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro

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Bob Wheeler, right, and his son, Jack Wheeler, at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Bob Wheeler, right, and his son, Jack Wheeler, at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

WEBSTER GROVES, MO (KTVI) – The Guinness Book of World Records certified an 85-year-old Webster Groves man as the oldest person to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

Bob Wheeler reached the top of the 19,340-foot mountain on October 2, 2014, along with his son, Jack. Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania, is the highest peak on the African continent and the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. It took him five days to make the trek, according to the Guinness World Records website.

Wheeler has also climbed Mt. Fuji in Japan and Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina. He published a book on mountain climbing in 2010.
Wheeler is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point and a retired lieutenant colonel.

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