Heroes and Friends Part 2

On my way to visit my friend Jonathan Parker,  I met another hero of mine from Childhood.  Mark Wellman is the first wheelchair user to climb El Capitan.  He completed this feat in 1989 with just the help of one friend Mike Corbett.  Another good book for  you to check out would be his autobiography ” Climbing Back”.

I was going to climb with Mark in Donner Pass but he was doing a veterans event with his portable climbing wall near Reno.  We decided that would be easier to do and he would be able to evaluate my systems better in that setting.  I met him at the event and as I drove up he was already out of his truck and getting ready to set the wall up.  I had another one of those moments where I looked at him and said, in my head of course, wow its really Mark Wellman.  I am not sure why but I felt more at ease with him than with Bob Hoover.  Maybe it is because he is in a wheelchair too and he is a climber or maybe because I have known about him since I was in junior high school.

I actually first read about Mark’s feats in Sports N’ Spokes magazine.  My phys. ed. teacher bought me a subscription to the magazine,  I think as a way to inspire me to try things and not let the wheelchair stop me.  Of course if you have read the entries in this blog you know that worked quite well haha. I do remember wondering if I could do the things Mark had done and hoping to meet him someday.

Even though I know he is possibly going to read this I have to say it is odd meeting your childhood heroes and then basically being their friend.  When you are younger you hold them to such high esteem as if they are on a whole other plain in the universe.  I think that is what I did with Mark.  I saw him as the amazing all powerful person who could do anything.  I still believe that of course but now I believe I can do it too.

So back  to the event, afterwards Mark suggested I come to his house and  try out his gear and see if it might work better. At this moment I thought to myself wow I get to go to Mark Wellman’s house.

I stayed after the Reno Air Races until Monday so that I could go meet with him.  We set up in his garage just hanging on my harness from a rope and tried out his as well.  In the end we decided my system was working well for me as it is and there was nothing to change.  I am going to get some of his climbing chaps though as they are definitely better than the logging chaps I use.

I also have big news from that day but it will have to be announced at a later date so be looking for that!