As regular readers and followers of my Twitter account know, one of my favorite charities is Carroll Center for the Blind. One of the most famous faces to graduate from the Carroll Center, Erik Weihenmayer will soon be featured on ABC's new reality show "Expedition Impossible"! A blind man in an intense reality show competition? Must be a gimmick right? Not if you know Erik. Please read below in Erik's own words on how the Carroll Center first introduced him to rock climbing.
One of the questions that I get asked a lot is how I found the courage to start rock climbing, given the many dangers it presents to a blind person. It all happened one weekend when the Carroll Center for the Blind took us rock climbing not too long after I lost my sight. I absolutely fell in love with the sport. To me it was the definition of adventure. It wasn’t like sitting on the back of a tandem bike and just peddling. It took strategy. It took brainpower to figure out how to connect the pieces of the holds on the rock, and to negotiate myself around the face.
Although I wasn’t able to see where I was going, I was able to feel it with my hands and feet—sort of mapping out a route—almost like solving a puzzle in the rock in order to get to the top. The textures of the rock beneath my hands, the amazing patterns of hot and cold with the sun and the shade—I thought, this is adventure!
I left a lot of blood and skin on the face of that rock the first time, but I got to the top and realized I would never again catch a baseball or make a lay-up. But in front of me were lifetimes of opportunity. And standing at the top, feeling the sun on my face and the texture of the rock under my hands and the sounds of openness all around me, my life was reborn.
To learn more about "Expedition Impossible", Erik's amazing journeys and the Carroll Center for the Blind, please visit the following links:
Official ABC "Expedition Impossible" site: http://abc.go.com/shows/expedition-impossible/
No Limits page: http://abc.go.com/shows/expedition-impossible/team-no-limits
Erik Weihenmayer's official page: http://www.touchthetop.com/
Carroll Center for the Blind: http://carroll.org/
Carroll Center on Facebook: http://facebook.com/carrollcenter
Carroll Center on Twitter: http://twitter.com/carrollcenter
