A 12-year-old boy climbs a frozen waterfall that iced over during the recent cold weather

A 12-year-old boy climbs a frozen waterfall that iced over during the recent cold weather

Dylan Heason is not yet a teenager but has already won prestigious rock-climbing awards and tackled some of the hardest routes in the country.

Taught by his mountain climber dad, Matt, 48, Dylan has scaled everything within a 15km radius of their home in Grindleford, Derbyshire.

And now the pair have accomplished a rare ice climb, after Kinder Downfall near Edale iced over in the recent stormy weather.

Dylan said: "I liked getting to the top.

I've not done much before because it doesn't get that could here very often.

"I've only done ice climbing a few times before and never like that.

"When I got down I got hot aches, my hands had got very cold." In the pictures, Dylan can be seen wearing full winter climbing gear, including crampons and ice axes, as he scales the cascade of ice.

But Matt, who runs the Sheffield Adventure film Festival, insists that Dylan was perfectly safe.

He said: "On Saturday I went up early doors with a mate to make sure it was safe, my wife came up with Dylan later in the day and I met up with them.

"I wanted to check it out to make sure it was safe before letting Dylan loose on it - now's not the time for hospital trips.

"We put a top rope on it so if we fell off we'd fall onto the rope, that's how Dylan climbed it.

"It wasn't great ice, in Norway or Canada you get better ice but it's not great here.

It can be, but it has to be colder for longer, a week isn't really enough.

"Dylan's climbed pretty difficult stuff in dry weather, but this was a hard winter climb." Matt lives in the Peak District with his wife, Sophie, 47, and their two children - Bryn, 14, and Dylan.

Matt continued: "Dylan loves climbing, he was essentially the British champion for his age group when he was nine.

"We're in Grindleford and over the past year everything we've done has been 10-15km from home - we're very lucky."

Dylan Heason is not yet a teenager but has already won prestigious rock-climbing awards and tackled some of the hardest routes in the country.

Taught by his mountain climber dad, Matt, 48, Dylan has scaled everything within a 15km radius of their home in Grindleford, Derbyshire.

And now the pair have accomplished a rare ice climb, after Kinder Downfall near Edale iced over in the recent stormy weather.

Dylan said: "I liked getting to the top.

I've not done much before because it doesn't get that could here very often.

"I've only done ice climbing a few times before and never like that.

"When I got down I got hot aches, my hands had got very cold." In the pictures, Dylan can be seen wearing full winter climbing gear, including crampons and ice axes, as he scales the cascade of ice.

But Matt, who runs the Sheffield Adventure film Festival, insists that Dylan was perfectly safe.

He said: "On Saturday I went up early doors with a mate to make sure it was safe, my wife came up with Dylan later in the day and I met up with them.

"I wanted to check it out to make sure it was safe before letting Dylan loose on it - now's not the time for hospital trips.

"We put a top rope on it so if we fell off we'd fall onto the rope, that's how Dylan climbed it.

"It wasn't great ice, in Norway or Canada you get better ice but it's not great here.

It can be, but it has to be colder for longer, a week isn't really enough.

"Dylan's climbed pretty difficult stuff in dry weather, but this was a hard winter climb." Matt lives in the Peak District with his wife, Sophie, 47, and their two children - Bryn, 14, and Dylan.

Matt continued: "Dylan loves climbing, he was essentially the British champion for his age group when he was nine.

"We're in Grindleford and over the past year everything we've done has been 10-15km from home - we're very lucky."