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Eight-year-old set to break climbing world record

Sam Adventure in front of El CapitanImage source, Joe Baker
Image caption,

Ain't no mountain high enough - meet Sam, standing in front of the huge rockface in California he's about to climb

Adventure by name, adventure by nature it seems!

Eight-year-old Sam Adventure Baker is hoping to become the youngest person ever to climb to the summit of El Capitan, a huge rock formation in California's Yosemite National Park.

It's a very famous landmark in America, and notoriously difficult to climb, as the surface of the rock is very flat.

Sam's epic journey is estimated to take about four days.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

El Capitan is one of the hardest climbs in the world

He isn't going to be climbing on his own though - he'll be with his dad Joe, and two others.

And this is something Sam is really looking forward to - he told American TV News channel CNN: "I'm most excited to climb with (my) Daddy".

Image source, Joe Baker
Image caption,

Sam is very familiar with the thrills of rock climbing - he was scaling rocks before he could tie his shoelaces!

When they climb, one person will lead and put the ropes in place for everyone else in the team to follow.

Sam's dad has said that Sam will try to lead at least one of these sections.

It's a very difficult climb - Joe Baker said that for much of it it'll mean "hanging from your fingers".

Image source, Joe Baker
Image caption,

Sam and his Dad Joe have been climbing together for years - here they are at El Capitan in preperation for the record attempt

El Capitan fact file
  • El Capitan is over 900m (3000 feet) tall

  • This makes it two and a half times taller than the Empire State building in New York

  • It's made of granite, which is an igneous rock

But Sam is no stranger to rock climbing - his dad said that he "was in a harness before he could walk", following in his parent's footsteps of their love of the sport.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

A species of dinosaur called Theiophytalia Kerri was discovered at this national park in Colorado

Sam climbed the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs at just three years old!

And El Capitan won't be his first Yosemite climb either - he conquered Lost Arrow Spire in the national park at the age of six, and was only the second six year old to ever complete it.

As well as the prospect of breaking world records, Sam is excited for the lasagna they'll cook on gas stoves and eat during their expedition.