Erik weihenmayer

Erik Weihenmayer – An Extreme Sportsman
He is the only blind person to have climbed the “Seven Summits,” the tallest peak on every continent. He has scaled the 3000 foot rock face of El Capitan,skied down the tallest peak in Europe, and guided Tibetan blind teenagers to 21,500 feet on the north side of Mt. Everest. He has scaled Polar Circus, a 3000-foot ice waterfall in The Canadian Rockies;and conquered a difficult and rarely climbed rock face on 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya. Erik is also a prolific speaker and author of two books. He was born with a disease called retinoschisis and becametotally blind by the age of 13.
Despite losing his vision he has become an accomplished mountain climber, paraglider, and skier, who has never let his blindness interfere with his passion for anexhilarating and fulfilling life. Erik’s feats have earned him an ESPY award, recognition by Time Magazine for one of the greatest sporting achievements of 2001, induction into the National Wrestling Hall ofFame, an ARETE Award for the superlative athletic performance of the year, the Helen Keller Lifetime Achievement award, Nike’s Casey Martin Award, and the Freedom Foundation’s Free Spirit Award. Hehas also carried the Olympic Torch for both the Summer and Winter Games.In July 2008 the Real Deal Inclusive Sports Adventure brought the world’s first integrated adventure race to the banks of theColorado river – integrated meaning 10 teams of 5 athletes per team, 3able-bodied and 2 disabled working together whilst mountain biking, rafting, climbing, swimming and rappelling.
In September, 2003,Erik joined 320 athletes from 17 countries to compete in the Primal Quest, the richest and toughest multi-sport adventure race in the world: 457 miles through the Sierra Nevada’s, nine days, sixtythousand feet of elevation gain, and no time-outs. Averaging only two hours of sleep a night, Erik and his team surged past the finish line on Lake Tahoe, becoming one of the 42 teams to cross the...