About a year ago Danika Gilbert, a grant writer and mountain guide who works with Paradox Sports, came to me with an idea to write a grant for something I wanted to do. We were going to write the grant for a trip to Alaska, but the grant was awarded a month late for that so then she suggested a climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and of course I said, “Sure, why not?” So with a lot of help from her I applied for a Challenged Athletes Foundation grant and an AAC Live Your Dream grant.
It wasn’t until April that I found out I had received both. Unfortunately, just before that I had ended up in the hospital with a major infection in my leg from frostbite sores on some of my toes and had all but decided that an ascent of El Capitan wasn’t in the cards. But flash forward a couple months and a lot of antibiotics later and I was good to go again, and the planning and training were on.
I contacted my friend Sean O’ Neill, who is an accomplished sit climber, about helping me train, and he was more than willing to help. Actually, this entire adventure would not have been possible without a ton of his help in contacting people and helping me prepare. I owe him big time! I started going over to Sean’s every other week to do pull-ups on a rope in a tree. He has it set up so that when I get to the top anchor he can lower me back down and keep going until the rope runs out. We can then pull it back through and keep on going. On the weeks when I didn’t go to Sean’s I was able to go to the New Balance fitness trail in Norway Maine. It worked out really well that the fitness trail had a pull-up bar just the right height to reach from my wheelchair and I was able to push laps on the trail to build endurance.
A shot of the rigging that allowed to me climb the tree
Sean’s belay harness
The T bar ascender I used to do pull-ups
Almost to the top about 32 feet up
The first time I went to Sean’s to do pull-ups it was a bit of a rude awakening as to how out of shape I was and how much work needed to be done. During my first trip up the rope, my arms started to hurt, and I began to wonder if it was time to back out. As time went on and with each trip back up the rope, it actually got easier and faster. Over the next couple of months, we went over the types of knots I should know and discussed a lot of what I would experience being on a big wall for days at a time. He gave me a wealth of knowledge that I really needed. He also put me in contact with Henry Evans.
Henry Evans became quadriplegic and mute after a stroke in 2003. He now uses robots to allow him to see the world from his home. He works with an organization called Robots for Humanity and through this organization is helping to develop the robots to allow himself and others to experience as much of the world as possible. I will be working with Henry to allow him to see the beauty of Yosemite and bring him along on my climbing adventures through the use of cameras and other technology.
Another great contact that Sean gave me is Mash Alexander. He is a steward climber who lives, climbs, and works at Yosemite. He has been an absolutely integral part of planning this adventure I am undertaking. Without him, there is no way I could pull this off. He has put everything in place for me to stay and climb and gain all the experience possible while I am in the park.
I will be leaving this Sunday for my trip and am nervous but very excited for all that I am about to experience. I am really appreciative of all the people it took to make this happen, and I hope I can do the trip justice through this blog. I want to make sure that you all can experience it with me and hopefully take something from it of your own. Maybe it will be to realize that there is nothing you can’t do in this life if you truly want to because the only thing holding you back is needing an idea and the ingenuity to find a solution to make it happen. Or maybe you will decide that you need to get out and see something you have never seen before. I hope to be able to post updates as often as I am on the ground, but the WiFi can be spotty in the park.
Links of Interest:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155827571945224.1073741865.748825223&type=1&l=5396d96549
Danika Gilberts’ recent expedition to Afghanistan to train and help a group of women summit some of the highest peaks in the region: http://hamptonroads.com/2015/08/norfolk-nonprofit-starts-first-afghan-women-mountain-climbing-group
Sean
Wonderful post, very best wishes–