Sunday, September 20, 2009

Climbing a 19er without legs?

In the article "Climbing 19,240 Feet by Arm Strength Alone," there is a man named Chris Waddell want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro at an incredable height of 19,240 feet tall, Africa's tallest mountain in a modified wheel chair. He's doing it because he wants to be noticed for who he is. And not what he does. If succesful, he will be the first paraplegic, on his own power, to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro. I think that is very intiquing! That would be so physicly and mentaly demanding is unrealistic. He is attepting to climb the mountain on a modified wheel chair/bike with four wheels. He assembled an exellent team right here in Crested Butte, Colo. to help him train and refine his now near-indestructible bike. An off-road racecar designer built the frame. An triathlete and engineer refined the gears and added wheels four times as big as his old ones, all under the guidance of expedition leader Dave Penney. On his bike he steers with his chest, choosing his path just like a rock climber would. As Anatole France said,"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe." I believe Chris follows quotes like these, to get up that mountain, he must act, but dream, he must believe and know that he can, or he will never be able to get up the mountain of Mt. Kilimanjaro and or the mountain of life.

No comments:

Post a Comment