Colorado Champions: Climbing kid trains for Europe

KRDO

By Brynn Carman

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    MANITOU SPRINGS, Colorado (KRDO) — The Colorado Springs climbing kid is at it again. Sam Evermore will be a 5th grader in a few weeks, but he’s currently training for his next big adventure.

In 2022 he made history being the youngest person to summit El Capitan in Yosemite. At this point, he’s become a bit of a local celebrity for all his impressive climbs. We have featured him for years in our Colorado Champions segment. And now his goals are stretching even farther with a special trip to Europe.

The Manitou Incline is something you might do once in your life, just to say you did it. Or maybe you try and do it once a year. And for the over-achievers, a few times a month is really hard to accomplish.

But not for this kid. Sam stands out.

“My fastest time was last time and I got 40 minutes and 14 seconds, up the Incline,” says Sam.

This summer, the Incline is Sam’s training mountain.

“We’re here at 500 out of 2,768 steps,” says Sam.

Sam is now poised to become the youngest person to ever climb the Matterhorn in Switzerland. It’s one of the most famous mountains in the world, standing at nearly 15,000 feet.

“It’s gonna be like a ridge that never ends,” says Sam.

A big first trip to Europe for Sam.

“I got my passport,” says Sam.

And a climb he and his dad, Joe, are excited to cross off the list.

“Each year we pick one huge goal and each goal has three rules,” says Joe. “And so rule number 1 is it’s got to be really really hard and almost seem impossible. Number 2, it’s got to be visual so we can put it on the wall. And then 3, you can’t die and so that’s why we train and prepare so much to try and set these goals.”

Little brother Sylvan has enjoyed tagging along for training and speeding past Dad.

Staying ahead of time records is a family affair. Which is hard to do given the Manitou Incline climbs 2,000 vertical feet, with some steep sections and uneven stairs.

“My favorite part is when I do it with my brother and my dad,” says Sam. “My least favorite part is that you get so completely tired.”

Sam says it will be worth it when he’s on top of the world.

“We get to the top it’s going to be so cool to look down and see the cities and all the lights.”

Sylvan stayed behind for this trip, but Sam and Joe are traveling to Switzerland right now. We’ll keep you posted on their progress.

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