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Hooked profiles four athletes who prove that life can be enjoyed to the fullest –– even with a disability.
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| Left to right - Jeff Evans, Erik Weihenmayer, Eric Alexander (Photo by Luis Benitez and courtesy of www.touchthetop.com) |
Erik Weihenmayer
Age: 37
Disability: Blindness (Completely blind at age 13 from retinoscheses, a degenerative condition)
Athletic Accomplishments: Climbed the “7 Summits” (highest mountain on each continent, including Mount Everest); also participates in long distance biking, marathoning, scuba diving, sky diving, adventure racing, wrestling, skiing, and rock climbing.
Reaching the summit of Mount Everest in 2001 made Weihenmayer the first blind person to climb to the top of the world. The distinction earned him notoriety around the world. Soon after, he completed his quest for the seven summits – an incredible achievement for climbers of any ability. Besides his more publicized climbs, Erik has also reached new depths as an open water scuba instructor, one of only a dozen blind instructors in the United States. When he's not climbing mountains or diving deep, he’s running, rock climbing, road biking, skydiving, skiing ice climbing or spending time with his wife and their daughter Emma.
To motivate others, he shares his lessons in life and climbing at public speaking engagements and in his best-selling book, “Touch the Top of the World.” Visit Weihenmayer’s Web site at www.touchthetop.com.
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| Kirk Bauer (without hat) skis with a group of soliders in Breckenridge, CO. Photo courtesy of Kirk Bauer. |
Kirk Bauer
Age: 57
Disability: Amputee (Lost a leg in 1969 during an ambush in Vietnam)
Athletic Accomplishments: Won several medals in disabled skiing events; won the Boston Marathon’s mobility impaired class in 2000; completed the Marine Corps Marathon.
While Bauer’s list of sporting achievements is impressive, what’s equally notable is his involvement with the Disabled Sports USA program. Vietnam Vets started the program in the 1960’s to help disabled comrades get back onto the ski slopes. From those humble roots, DUSA grew to include more than 60,000 volunteers and a full range of sports. Many of the DUSA programs prepare athletes for the Paralympics, the premier sporting event for disabled athletes. In his 23 years as executive director, Bauer inspired countless athletes and helped open doors for disabled people. He continues to participate in running, cycling, and skiing events.
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| Malcolm Daly on the rock at Indian Creek. Photo courtesy of Malcolm Daly. |
Malcolm Daly
Age: 50
Disability: Amputee (Lost a foot as a result of a climbing fall on Alaska’s Mount Thunder in 1999)
Athletic Accomplishments: Accomplished mountaineer, boulderer, rock climber, ice climber, and mixed route climber. Also enjoys cross country skiing, downhill skiing, cycling—pretty much anything fun in the outdoors
Malcolm’s love of the outdoors has resulted in a pattern of excellence in several different disciplines, notably ice climbing, mixed route climbing, cross country skiing, and bouldering. His involvement in the outdoors community has been equally impressive—he served for 13 years as a board member of the Access Fund, an organization he helped found in the early 1990’s. More recently, he has helped promote No Barriers, a group that aims to bring mountain based outdoor sports to disabled athletes with an emphasis on enjoyment rather than competition. Following a near-fatal heart attack while ice climbing in 2004, Malcolm’s personal goal is to return to a normal, active life where the outdoors are every bit a part of day to day life as they were before his injury. His continued courage and involvement, mostly out of the spotlight, promises to spread his philosophy to disabled athletes everywhere.
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| Peter and team on the summit of Mount Rainier. L to R Bob Rittenhouse, Greg Kimmel, Linda Soper, Bill Robins, and Paul Soboleski with Peter Rieke upfront on the Snow-pod. Photo courtesy of www.mobilityeng.com. |
Peter Rieke
Age: 51
Disability: Parapalegic (Paralyzed from the waist down after a 1994 rock climbing accident)
Atheletic Accomplishments: Climbed to the summits of Mount Rainier (14,411 ft.), Mount Hood (11,239 ft.), and Mt. Shasta (14,162 ft.) using only his arm strength and his custom built, human powered SnowPod.
Prior to the climbing accident that left him without the use of his legs, Peter had stood atop the impressive summit of Mount Rainier six times. While many felt his climbing career was over, Peter had other thoughts. After three years designing and building the human-arm-powered SnowPod (a hybrid between a bike/tractor with spiked snowmobile treads), he set off to reach the summit of Mount Rainier—and failed. A second attempt also fell short, but on the third try, Rieke reached the fabled summit in the midst of a whiteout. The grueling climb took 10 days and his team weathered 4 days of tent shredding storms and high winds. When asked why he wanted to ascend the peak, he responded with a Mallory-like: “Because I can.” Since then, Peter has continued to climb in the Pacific Northwest and has led three other disabled climbers up Mt. Shasta.
You can read more about Peter's climb here: http://www.mobilityeng.com/cr2k.html
Last Updated: Feb 24th, 2006 - 14:18:11
© Copyright 1999-2006 by Hooked on the Outdoors
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