SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A Colorado boy could become the youngest climber ever to reach the top of Yosemite National Park's "El Capitan."
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Eight-year-old Sam Baker embarks on the climb of his life, so far, with his dad, Joe, on Tuesday.
Joe told KPIX that his son has been training for this climb of the 3,000 foot rock formation "El Capitan" for the past couple of years, but climbing in general is something he's been doing for almost his entire life.
“Ever since Sam was little, we went crawl, walk, and then rock climb,” Joe Baker told KPIX. “So that’s very normal in our home.”
"When he was six, we went and unconventionally climbed Lost Arrow Spire (in Yosemite), when he was five we climbed Angora and his little brother just climbed Angora."
He said his son really enjoys the experience of climbing:
"Sam loves cooking on the portal ledges and sometimes we set up really fun rope swings and we just get to share the time, share the friendship up there on the wall," he said. "This next wall will take us five days."
The elder Baker expects the pair to make it to the top of El Capitan by this weekend.
He added there are a lot of logistics to prepare for before they begin their ascent.
"We literally have to take up about 200 pounds of just water," he explained. "That’s a lot of gear that’s totally unsupported once we blast off from the ground. For five days everything that we need to lift we’ve got to pull it up in these giant bags."
Sam admitted that he does get nervous "sometimes" but said that his friends think his daring hobby is "really cool."
Joe wrote on Instagram that he understands people are talking about the risks of this climb, but he hopes they also will focus on the rewards of the experience.
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