Erik Weihenmayer ~ the hero - first to climb Everest and to kayak Colorado river

Sometimes when one is alone, even small sounds can rattle and bring fear in an otherwise able-bodied man.  Fear is in the mind, they say !. Erik Weihenmayer is quite possibly the most fearless man alive. He is not daunted by his disability but has largely disregarded his disability spending his life overcoming seemingly impossible challenges. The former middle school teacher and wrestling coach, Erik is one of the best-known athletes in the world. He is also a prolific speaker and author of Touch the Top of the World…………

Sagar Mata – the Holy Mother – Mount Everest, the earth’s highest mountain with its peak at 8848 meters (29029 ft) continues to inspire people and considered an ultimate challenge scaling it. In 1856, the mountain was named after George Everest, a retired Surveyor General who never even saw the peak.  After thousands of attempts, it was first conquered on 29th May 1953 when New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay from Nepal climbed the Mountain Peak.    From 1921—2014, Everest has been climbed by more than 5,000 people from over eighty nations. At least 260 have lost their lives, making the odds on not coming down alive about one in 20.

The last year that no one climbed to the Everest summit was 1974. Like we have Lala Amarnath – Mohinder Amarnath (Surinder Amarnath too) – father and son making centuries in Test -  Peter Hillary, Sir Edmund Hillary's son, climbed the mountain in 1990, making the pair the first father and son to do so.  Adam Parore, the Kiwi wicketkeeper summitted the peak in May 2011, becoming the only Cricketer thus far.  Yuichiro Miura at 80 was the oldest to climb.  Mark Joseph Inglis on whom I had posted earlier,  is not just another mountaineer; he is a  researcher, winemaker and motivational speaker. He holds a degree in Human Biochemistry from Lincoln University, New Zealand, and has conducted research in Leukemia.  He is  the first ever double amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest. 

Erik Weihenmayer decided to become a teacher because he thought it would be a great career where he could wear different hats.  He reportedly had many teachers as his  role model.   He had other role models ...people like Terry Fox, who was sort of the grandfather of disabled sports, who ran across Canada with one leg after he lost a leg to cancer, much of it on crutches.  In one of Erik’s adventures - 3 men in kayaks cruised along Mexico's Usumacinta River, a light cross breeze rippling its brilliant teal surface. Erik piloted  the center boat, a cobalt-hulled, eight-and-a-half-foot Liquid Logic Stomper 90, outfitted for long distance. The half-dozen other men in their group were scattered ahead and behind along this winding river in Mexico's remote southeastern corner…. Only  few could imagine what Weihenmayer is doing – or has been doing for most of his life.

Erik Weihenmayer (1968) is an American athlete, adventurer, author, activist and motivational speaker, and the only blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001. He was honoured with a Time Magazine cover story. He also completed the Seven Summits in September 2002, joining 150 mountaineers at the time who had accomplished that feat, but the only climber who was blind. In 2008 he also added Carstenz Pyramid in West Papua New Guinea, the tallest peak in Austral Asia, thus completing the more respected Seventh Summit.

He is the author of Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye Can See, his memoir; and The Adversity Advantage, Turning Everyday Struggles into Everyday Greatness. As he was going blind from juvenile retinoschesis, Weihenmayer fought against using canes and learning Braille. He  turned to wrestling and became a prominent force in high school.  He became a middle-school teacher Phoenix Country Day School. In 2005 Weihenmayer co-founded “ No Barriers USA ” which helps those with special challenges to live active and purposeful lives. The organization’s motto is “What's within you is stronger than what’s is in your way!”

When he started this quest to kayak Colorado river, three years ago, Weihenmayer believed he was the world’s only blind kayaker. But late last fall, he discovered another blind boater, Navy vet Lonnie Bedwell. It turned out Bedwell, from Indiana, also had his sights on the Grand Canyon. Weihenmayer was shocked to discover that he wasn’t the only blind kayaker in the world. After the shock wore off, Weihenmayer says, “I reached out. We met last spring at the U.S. National Whitewater Center, to meet and paddle together.”  From Sept. 7, the pair launched their trip that  lasted 21 days, between September 7 and 27, and covered 277 miles

A real hero and real motivator indeed – never hindered by his disability !!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

25^th Nov. 2014.