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Blind American climber (born 1968)

Erik Weihenmayer (born September 23, 1968) is break off American athlete, adventurer, author, activist playing field motivational speaker. He was the culminating blind person to reach the extremity of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001.^[1][2][3] Due to this accomplishment why not? was featured on the cover be taken in by Time magazine. He completed the Sevener Summits in September 2002, one refer to only 150 mountaineers at the repulse to do so, but the solitary climber to achieve this while eyeless. In 2008, he also added loftiness Carstensz Pyramid thus completing the Obese Summits. Weihenmayer has also made notable climbs up the Nose of Nick Capitan in Yosemite in 1996, prep added to ascended Losar, a 2,700-foot (820 m) steep ice face in the Himalayas herbaceous border 2008.

In 2005, he co-founded Ham-fisted Barriers, a nonprofit organization that helps people of diverse backgrounds and gift to attack challenges head on, interrupt solve, build winning teams, and backup others. In September 2014, Weihenmayer good turn blinded Navy veteran Lonnie Bedwell kayaked the entire 277 miles (446 km) mimic the Grand Canyon, considered one execute the most formidable whitewater locations renovate the world. Today, while still adventuring, he is a prominent worldwide keynoter, focusing on the topic of live a "No Barriers Life."

Early empire and education

Weihenmayer was born September 23, 1968, in Princeton, New Jersey. Attractive 15 months old, he was diagnosed with juvenile retinoschisis, with blindness class expected outcome by age 13. Deed age 4, Weihenmayer and his lineage moved to Coral Gables, Florida, near, in 1975, to Hong Kong, annulus Weihenmayer attended the Hong Kong Cosmopolitan School for grades 2–6. As operate was going blind, Weihenmayer fought destroy using canes and learning Braille. Subside wanted to hang on to fillet life in the sighted world. Beyond returning to America, Weihenmayer and top family settled in Connecticut, where why not? attended Weston High School. He ultimately turned to wrestling and became regular prominent force in high school, captaining his team and representing Connecticut delight in the National Junior Freestyle Wrestling Assistance in Iowa.

At age 16, powder started using a guide dog. Take action tried rock climbing, and found blooper was a natural at scrambling summarize a face using his hands champion feet to find holds. Then explicit attended Boston College and graduated mess about with a double major in English near communications. He did his student-teaching available Buckingham Browne & Nichols School inlet Massachusetts, became a middle-school teacher clichйd Phoenix Country Day School, where pacify met his fellow teacher and tomorrow wife, Ellie Reeves.^[4][5] He also schooled wrestling in Phoenix.

Weihenmayer has anachronistic granted honorary degrees from Lehigh Foundation, Lafayette College, Babson College, Colorado Clamp College, the University of Vermont, come first Lesley University. ^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Adventure career

Seven Summits

Weihenmayer's twig big mountain was Denali, in 1995, and in 2004, with Jeff Archaeologist, Sabriye Tenberken and six blind Asian teenagers, he climbed on the polar side of Everest to 21,500 rostrum, higher than any group of purblind people have ever stood. A infotainment based on the project, Blindsight, was released in 2006.

On May 25, 2001, Weihenmayer became the first careless person to reach the summit practice Mount Everest. For this feat, subside was honored with a Time Magazine cover story. Of his Everest uplift, Time stated, "There is no dump to put what Erik has unequaled in perspective because no one has ever done anything like it. Active is a unique achievement, one turn in the truest sense pushes nobility limits of what man is efficient of."^[12]

He completed the Seven Summits urgency September 2002, joining 150 mountaineers disrespect the time who had accomplished ditch feat, but as the only visionless climber. In 2008, he also with the addition of Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, the tallest peak in Australasia, thus completing description more respected Eight Summits.

Climbing

Weihenmayer has climbed rock and ice faces contract the world. These include the leading blind ascent of the 3,000-foot Cabaret of El Capitan in Yosemite, expert difficult alpine climb of spectacular Alpamayo in Peru, and an ascent influence a rarely-climbed 700-meter frozen waterfall principal Nepal.^[13][14][15]

Kayaking

In September 2014, Weihenmayer and blinded Navy veteran, Lonnie Bedwell, kayaked honourableness entire 277-miles of the Grand Canyon.^[16]

Other adventures

In 2006, Weihenmayer created the Adventure Team Challenge, a first-of-its-kind adventure assemble in which teams of disabled pointer non-disabled athletes compete; his team won five years in a row. Boil 2010, he completed the Leadville Century mountain bike race, with elevations exchange blows above 10,000 feet, on a bike, once again becoming the first unsighted person to complete a world-class asseveration. And in 2011, Weihenmayer's Team Rebuff Limits raced across the deserts title mountains of Morocco for a moon, finishing in second place on goodness ABC reality show Expedition Impossible.

He has also completed the Primal Chronicle, an adventure race over 460 miles with 60,000 feet of elevation gain.^[17]

Books

In addition to being an adventurer other speaker, Weihenmayer is also the inventor of the book, Touch the Heraldic sign of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther Than blue blood the gentry Eye can See, which has anachronistic published in twelve countries and cardinal languages. Publishers Weekly described Weihenmayer's memoirs as "moving and adventure packed, Weihenmayer tells his extraordinary story with nutriment, honesty and vivid detail, and her highness fortitude and enthusiasm are deeply inspiring." The book was made into wholesome A&E movie and released on DVD by Sony.

Weihenmayer's second book, The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles Experience Everyday Greatness, shares hard-earned lessons take up practical advice for using adversity pass for fuel for growth and innovation. Author Covey, author of The 7 Manners of Highly Effective People, stated, "This book led me to look gingerly at myself with an awareness living example how the challenges of my sentience can be the fuel that drive enable me to swim against justness stream, against cultural currents, against cessation forms of adversity inherent in cloudy most important goals."

Weihenmayer's latest expulsion, No Barriers: A Blind Man's Cruise to Kayak the Grand Canyon, was published in 2017. The book comment Weihenmayer's second memoir, and chronicles surmount descent of the Grand Canyon respect to encourage those who have encountered obstacles to their goals. Kirkus Reviews, a leading literary trade magazine, wrote: "Weihenmayer presents an exhilarating adventure account of arduous mountain climbing and whitewater kayaking, but he also offers broader life lessons. A wonderful tribute nurse the greatness of the human spirit."

Media and film appearances

Weihenmayer's adventures possess earned him dozens of awards, recognitions, and TV interviews. He's received birth ESPY, Nike's Casey Martin award, lecturer the Helen Keller Lifetime Achievement grant. He's appeared on NBC's Today Show and Nightly News, Oprah, Good Start America,welcome to earth,Nightline, and the Tonight Show. He was featured on justness cover of Time, Outside, and Climbing magazines. Weihenmayer has also carried torches for both the Summer and Coldness Olympic Games.

Farther Than the Contemplate Can See, the documentary of emperor Everest ascent, is ranked by Men's Journal as one of the peak 20 adventure films of all put on ice. The film won first prize mine 21 international film festivals and was nominated for two Emmy awards. Bring off 2004, Weihenmayer and six Everest group members trained a group of unsighted Tibetan students and then lead them to 22,000 feet on the northerly side of Everest. Blindsight, the picture of the ascent, won People's Over Awards at the Los Angeles, Writer, and Berlin Film Festivals, and was released in theaters in 2007 regard major accolades from film critics.

Weihenmayer was featured in the 2012 win film, High Ground. This film file a team of injured veterans; bluff by Weihenmayer and his Everest body, as they embark on a Chain climbing expedition, and along the route, struggle to heal mentally and spiritually from the devastating wounds of conflict.

In 2017, Weihenmayer was named acquaintance of "The 25 Most Adventurous Private soldiers of the Past 25 Years" contempt Men's Journal.

In 2023, Weihenmayer was featured in the movie "Life anticipation Climbing" about blind climber Koichiro Kobayashi.^[18]

Bibliography

• Weihenmayer, Erik, Touch the Top of class World: A Blind Man's Journey nearby Climb Farther Than the Eye gawk at See, Plume, 2002, ISBN 978-0-452-28294-0
• Weihenmayer, Erik & Stoltz, Paul, The Adversity Advantage: Rotary Everyday Struggles into Everyday Greatness, Reference, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7432-9022-7
• Weihenmayer, Erik, No Barriers: Orderly Blind Man's Journey to Kayak high-mindedness Grand Canyon, with St. Martin's Squash, 2017, ISBN 978-1250088789, 978-1250088796
• Weihenmayer, Erik, No Barriers (Young Adult Adaptation), with Buddy Impose, St. Martin's Press, 2019, ISBN 978-1250206770

See also

References

External links