Erik Weihenmayer: No Boundaries


Photo credit:
Jamie Bloomquist Photography
Erik Weihenmayer
As an accomplished mountain climber, rock climber, skydiver, paraglider and skier, Erik Weihenmayer has had some amazing adventures.

At the age of 33, on September 25, 2002, he became one of the youngest of the elite "Seven Summiteers" - approximately 100 people who have climbed all seven summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents.

In July of 2003, as part of the four-person team "No Boundaries," Erik participated in the 2003 Arctic Team Challenge in Ammassalik, Greenland. The challenge included mountain biking, mountain trekking, climbing, glacier trekking and canoeing.


Although Erik's team did not complete the full course (during the final stages of the race, they had to opt for a shorter finishing course), the experience was excellent preparation for their next adventure race - the 2003 Subaru Primal Quest Adventure held in South Lake Tahoe, California. Only about half of the 100 participating teams finished the full 457-mile course, and this time, Erik's team was one of them. In just 10 days, and at elevations as high as 11,000 feet, the teams completed 15 stages of intense kayaking, mountain biking, orienteering, repelling, caving, whitewater rafting and mountain trekking.
"The course of one's life is like the ascent of a mountain. Although a climber may have the privilege of standing on top, it takes a team to get him there."
Erik has earned a number of awards, including Connecticut's Most Courageous Athlete Award, the Free Spirit Award of the Freedom Foundation, a Victor Award, an ESPY Award and ESPN's ARETE Award twice -- once in 1996 for courage in sports and then again in 2001 for the superlative athletic achievement of the year. He's carried the torch for both the summer and winter Olympic Games and has been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Amazingly, Erik did all of this in the face of another major challenge: He's blind.

Born with an extremely rare degenerative eye disease that affects the retina, retinoschisis, Erik gradually lost his eyesight over the course of his childhood. In his book, "Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye Can See," Erik writes of his diminishing eyesight, "My world seemed to be getting smaller, like the old science-fiction movies in which the heroes are trapped between two walls closing in on them."

The Seven Summits
Becoming a "Seven Summiteer" is probably the highest achievement a climber can imagine. The seven summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents, include:
  • 29,029-foot Mount Everest (Asia)
  • 22,840-foot Mount Aconcagua (South America)
  • 20,320-foot Mount McKinley (North America)
  • 19,339-foot Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa)
  • 18,510-foot Mount Elbrus (Europe)
  • 16,067-foot Vinson Massif (Antarctica)
  • 7,316-foot Mount Kosciuszko (Australia)
*Note, there is some controversy over the final summit, in that some believe that the Carstensz Pyramid (16,023 feet) should be included instead of Kosciuszko.

By the time he got to high school, Erik was completely blind. At first, he had a difficult time admitting his loss of vision, but ultimately he faced it and decided he wouldn't let it hold him back. He joined the high school wrestling team, and started a new phase in his life. In his book, Erik explains:

"Prior to my going blind, I wasn't allowed to participate in any contact sports; my weak retinas might break away faster. Now that I was totally blind, there were no limitations; there was no more risk of me losing my remaining sight. In a sordid way, going blind had set me free."
The summer after his freshman year, Erik attended wrestling camp. Just as things were starting to fall in to place, Erik was hit with another devastating blow - his mother was killed in an accident. For Erik this was even more horrifying than losing his sight. But, through the strength of his family and their commitment to each other, Erik persevered.

At first, when his dad suggested Erik attend a skills camp for blind teens, Erik wasn't crazy about the idea. But he went and something incredible happened: He learned to rock climb. "It was as though my senses had awakened," writes Erik. "Never again would I thunder down a basketball court on a fast break or jump a dirt bike over a ramp… But one hundred feet above tree line with the sun in my face and a sound of openness all around me, none of that seemed to matter as much, because I had just discovered I could climb."

"For me, the fear of climbing blind does not come when I am hanging securely from a fat hold or after latching on to the next. The greatest fear is in the reaching, at that moment when I have committed my body and soul to finding the next hold, when I am hoping, predicting, praying I will find what I am seeking."

After that, there was no stopping Erik. He graduated from Boston College and went on to receive a master's degree in Middle School Education. He worked as a middle school teacher and wrestling coach for a couple of years before deciding to dedicate most of his time to outdoor activity. While teaching he met Ellie Reeve, the woman he would eventually marry. And of course, the couple was married during a climb - half-way up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Climbing Costs!
If you're thinking about following in Erik Weihenmayer's footsteps, you might want to take another look at that after-school job…and then some. The average price of a guided climb up Mount Everest is, at a minimum, $65,000. And, that doesn't include other expenses like equipment, traveling to the mountain, medical care and so on.
Since the beginning of his climbing career, Erik has faced skepticism from many critics. In his book, he answers their questions:

"… I refused to be the weak link of the team. I wanted them to put their lives in my hands as I would put mine in theirs. I would carry my share. I would contribute as any other team member. I would not be carried up to the mountain and spiked on top like a football. If I were to reach the summit, I would reach it with dignity."
For his next adventure, Erik plans to take a group of six teen-aged Tibetan students on a three-week climbing expedition to Lhakpa Ri, a 23,000-foot summit north of Mount Everest.

It will be an amazing first in climbing history. All of the students on the trip are also blind.