8-Year-Old Becomes Youngest Person Ever To Summit California’s El Capitan

An eight-year-old has made history, becoming the youngest person to ever summit El Capitan in California’s Yosemite National Park.

Sam “Adventure” Baker spent days going up El Capitan, a rock formation rising 3,000 feet above the Yosemite valley.

He and his father were part of a four-person team, where one person climbs ahead and sets the ropes for the others to follow.

During the nights, the group would take breaks and sleep on the rock face.

When Sam was almost at the top, he hung a giant sheet off the rock with a message for his mom that read, “I love you, Mom, almost there.”

“Sam showed so much courage today,” Sam’s dad, Joe, wrote on Facebook. “I was blown away at his resilience and stamina into the night…This adventure is already life changing for the both of us.”

Sam has loved the outdoors and rock climbing his entire life. His father says he was in a harness before he could even walk, so it’s no surprise that he pulled off this incredible achievement at such a young age.

While Sam certainly set a record, some climbers say this method, known as “juggling” or a rope ascent, isn’t true climbing since the climber uses a rope instead of fully interacting with the rock face.

Nevertheless, Sam is still the youngest to rope ascent El Capitan as well, and his accomplishment will never go unnoticed.

After achieving the climb, Sam and his father hiked back down eight miles.