I’ve been traveling a lot lately, both for adventures and corporate talks. It’s an exhausting schedule but sometimes an event really stands out. Recently I had the great honor to give the commencement address to 1,000 graduating students at the University of South Alabama. With over 10,000 people attending, I talked about becoming a modern-day alchemist by taking lead and turning it into gold.
You might remember, from your history textbooks, those medieval alchemists who toiled to mysteriously turn lead into gold. No one has yet figured out how to literally turn one metal into another, but on a figurative level, some people have successfully turned their trials and tribulations into priceless experiences. I call these people modern-day alchemists. All of us can be alchemists, taking the lead that life piles on top of us and finding ways to transform it into gold. I strive to be an alchemist every day.
My message was especially poignant because Mobile, Alabama is on the front lines of the giant oil disaster in the Gulf. It is also one of the major headquarters for clean-up efforts. The students, most of whom are local to that area, are definitely entering a time of challenge, and I told them, despite the challenges—tough economy, environmental disasters, climate change, a clash of religions and cultures—they are the world’s best hope for alchemy.
I’d like to thank State Representative Jamie Ison, who has served the Mobile district for the past eight years, for bringing me to speak. I first met Jamie about a decade ago when she was the Regional Director of the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind. Several years ago, she was on a team I led up Kilimanjaro, when 5 blind climbers from 4 continents stood on the Roof of Africa
Jamie was looking for a challenge and despite a bad knee, being 52 years old, having never climbed before, and living at sea level, she cruised to the summit with a big smile on her face at the top. She was part of the team which helped Douglas Sidialo to climb Kili. Douglas was the first blind African to stand on top of Africa. He lost his eyes in the 1998 US Embassy bombing in Nairobi. He wanted to make a statement about peace triumphing over terrorism.
Since that climb, Jamie and I have stayed in touch and it was her idea that graduating students would appreciate my experience at shattering expectations and taking on adversity. As a former grade school teacher, I loved the opportunity to send young adults off to the next exciting chapters in their lives.
It is also gratifying to learn that my message was heard. Below is just one of the comments I received following my talk:
Thank you, Erik for sharing your story and message to “Reach” and be “alchemists” to the 2010 graduates of the University of South Alabama and the world!!!
Many may look at your blindness as an unfortunate handicap…I consider it to be one of God’s blessings to the world…were it not for your “disability” many of us would not have the honor to hear your message!!!
Thanks for showing us all the light!! Keep your light burning!!!! REACH!
Frances Henson
The city of Mobile, Alabama surprised me with a welcome gift.
This billboard has appeared in Times Square and many other places.
A couple weeks ago, I visited Minneapolis to participate in a fundraiser for No Barriers USA. This non-profit organization’s goal is to promote innovative ideas, approaches, and assistive technologies that help people with disabilities push through their own personal barriers to live full and active lives. The local newspaper ran a front page story about my visit and we had a terrific turnout. No Barriers is one of my pet projects and I look forward to the next festival that will be held here in Colorado next year.
After great ice climbing in the Adirondaks and Scotland this past winter with my climbing partner Ian Osteyee, we were ready for another big adventure. This time, we set our sights on Ham and Eggs Couloir on Moose’s Tooth in the Ruth Gorge of the Alaska Range. We rounded out our team with Jay Abbey, a 56-year-old granddad and total stud, who is a friend of Ian’s. Although Moose’s Tooth is not particularly high (10,335 feet), it is just 15 miles from Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America.
We flew to Alaska on Monday April 26th full of concern. Ian and I spoke before we left and the weather forecast was grim: raining down low and snowing up high all week. We even discussed cancelling our trip. Alaska is notorious for bad weather and none of us wanted to sit in a tent for a week waiting out a blizzard.
Five years ago, I went to climb the west face of Mt. Huntington—30 pitches of ice—and it snowed heavily for an entire week. All we could do was sit in the tent, eat beef jerky, play games, and stomp out the runway with our skis. Planes can’t land on five feet of fresh snow so you have to keep the runway clear, which takes an incredible amount of hard work.
Ultimately, we decided to go for it. Since we brought skis this time, even if it dumped, we could still have some fun. The weather on Tuesday was cloudy but good enough for the DHC-3 Single Otter to fly. We traveled with Talkeetna Air Taxi and the most experienced pilot in the area, Paul Roderick. Paul is amazing and smooth—he opened up the “Root Canal,” the landing zone at the top of the Ruth Glacier.
Working for Paul is an old friend of mine, Annie Duquette, who was the base camp manager for many years on McKinley’s Kahiltna Glacier. Annie would coordinate flights in and out, help with rescue logistics, and relay weather to climbers up higher on the mountains. She, or at least her voice, was famous, and people affectionately called her, “Base Camp Annie.” I am forever indebted to Annie because she graciously gave me a drink after I finished the final brutal hill on my last day on Denali; I was dying of thirst and guzzled the whole bottle.
On the afternoon we flew in, the sun came out and it was beautiful. Just above our campsite, our 3,000 foot climb loomed. When I climbed Everest, it took over a week of hiking to get to the start of the climb. On Moose’s Tooth, you pretty much walk out of your tent and start going up! Another bonus is about 18 hours of light in May, a good thing considering the route normally takes about 20 to 30 hours.
Our route was first climbed in 1975 by Jon Krakauer (of Into Thin Air fame) and two partners in 1975. The silly name came about during their epic 33-hour ascent when one of his partners said, “If we had some ham, we could have ham and eggs…if we had eggs.” Since then, the Ham and Eggs Couloir has become a classic for which climbers from around the world have an appetite. It offers sections of steep, even overhanging, ice and some mixed sections of bare rock and gets progressively narrower near the top. Great stuff!
Our camp is right below our climb.
The route goes up the ice ribbon in the middle for almost 3,000 feet to the col.
Then it goes up the back side to the center peak.
A climber can be seen rappelling down the climb after reaching the col.
The next morning presented some clouds but was clear enough to climb as far as we could and see if the weather would hold. You don’t want to be in the ice gulley when it’s snowing because of snow avalanches. This route is also a notorious funnel for rocks that come off the surrounding rock walls. So we set out hopeful but not really expecting to get up on our first attempt.
The conditions were ideal; the cold night froze the route so we didn’t have to wallow through deep unconsolidated snow. We simultaneously climbed several long snow sections, which was the hardest on Ian, who was carrying a sizeable rack of climbing protection and dragging heavy, frozen 70-meter ropes behind him. We all had heavy packs because we decided to be conservative and carry sleeping bags, a stove, and fuel. There’s a flat spot in a col between the ridge to bivouac in an emergency, although the wind up there can be ferocious. It’s ironic; if you carry bivy gear, then you won’t need to. If you don’t, then you will.
Jay and me at a belay.
Nearing the top of the couloir.
Ian lead and Jay climbs just above me to offer directions.
After 8 glorious hours of climbing ice and rock, we arrived at the col—the top of the route—but the clouds had moved in and it was spitting snow. Most climbers stop here because getting to the true summit can be very tricky and dangerous in bad conditions. You have to climb up a ridge which is hugely corniced, so you don’t know if you’re on solid ground. A friend of mine stuck his ice axe in the snow near the summit, and he could see the light of day through the hole.
Ian calls me a peak bagger, though he and Jay also wanted the true summit. The visibility was very low, so I’m told, but I could feel some radiant heat on my back, which told me the clouds weren’t that thick. Ian pushed on without too much discussion. A couple pitches later, the sun came out and the snow was getting soft and unconsolidated. My ice tools were slicing through the snow and not getting much purchase. It was the scariest part for me.
At last, we crossed over a false summit and stood close to the top of Moose’s Tooth at about 3:30 PM. We didn’t stand on the tippy top, because it was a frozen cornice of wind blown snow hanging in space. We ate our sandwiches in perfect sunny weather, with only a small breeze, looking out at a spectacular view of the Alaska Range.
Heading up from the col to the summit.
Looking out at the Ruth Gorge.
Our camp far below.
We rappelled down the entire route through weather that was getting colder and losing visibility. In total, it took us 17 hours to reach the summit and return to camp.…a good days outing. With storms in the forecast and our goal achieved, only three days after arriving we arranged to fly home.
Time to go home.
Almost down after a long day of climbing.
The next day, a climber from Holland must have seen me stumble. He asked Ian what’s wrong with me. Ian told him I was blind. “Snow blind,” he kept asking. “Just blind,” Ian said. Finally it must have dawned on him. I don’t want to sound egotistical, but I do get a slight kick out of the fact that teams come from all around the world to climb this classic climb. They struggle up the climb and think, “that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.” And then they discover that I did it with my eyes closed.
Just a week after our visit, my two friends Chad Jukes and Chad Butrick, both below the knee amputees, attempted Ham and Eggs also. Unfortunately, they got hit with the bad weather that we dodged. But the “Hanging Chads” will be climbing with me in Nepal this fall on our Soldiers to the Summit Expedition, when our “old” Everest team, reassembled, will lead 12 Wounded Warriors to a formidable peak in the shadows of Everest. Stay tuned!
This spring, I have been training for two big climbs that have been on my tick list for quite some time: the Moose’s Tooth in the Alaska Range (stay tuned for a trip report) and Alpamayo in the Peruvian Andes. Both ascents consist of long, sustained ice climbing and are a good test of physical and mental endurance. In addition to physical conditioning in the gym, I also try to spend a few long, hard days in the cold and wind to train my mind against the challenges of the mountain.
I really enjoy getting out for some spring backcountry skiing right in my own backyard, the Rocky Mountains. Last spring, I had a magical day climbing the 50° slope of the Dead Dog Couloir up Torreys Peak, a 14,267 foot peak near Denver, and skiing down the bowl between Grays and Torreys. We had a couple dozen perfect turns down some snow which my buddy described as “butter.”
Backcountry skiing blind is a fun challenge. On the uphill, I follow the sound of my friend’s skis as they scrape through the snow. However, following a friend on the downhill as he calls out directions through blustery wind and snow conditions, which change in the space of a turn is the real excitement. For those of you who are skiers, try closing your eyes and making a few turns on a nice groomer to get an idea of what it’s like!
This week my friend, Skyler Williams, and I spent some time skinning up to the Continental Divide above Loveland Ski Area and Berthoud Pass. These quick weekday trips also give me a chance to break in and test my equipment. Lately I have been using the Mountain Hardwear Wayback ski pack, which has a cool back panel opening. This allows me to lay the pack in the snow and get to the contents without the suspension getting covered in snow. I’ve tried a lot of ski packs over the years and the Wayback is now my favorite.
Here are a few photos from our skiing adventures:
Here’s a short video of me skiing with my friend Jeff Ulrich to give you a better idea of how a blind person works with their guide. To order a copy of the full-length film or to learn more about blind skiing and guiding, go to www.blindskiersedge.org
I am very excited for a friend of mine, Kyle Coon, who recently won $10,000 from the Gore-Tex Experience More Challenge to climb Aconcagua, the tallest peak in the Western Hemisphere, with his friends, Justin Grant (who is visually impaired), Brad Jaffke, Peter Green, Joseph Mayfield, and Ben Meyer. The name of their expedition is Team Sight Unseen. An additional $5,000 was donated in their name to The Access Fund, a non-profit that works to preserve our Nation’s great climbing areas, which I also support.
Kyle is now 18 and a freshman at the University of Central Florida. But I first met him when he was only seven years old and he had just lost both eyes to cancer (Bilateral Sporadic Retinoblastoma). As you can imagine, Kyle was devastated at that point. His father had arranged a time for us to speak when I was visiting their home town for a talk. During our conversation, I told Kyle about all the things a blind person can do. Each time I’d explain to him how I do a sport or activity, he’d respond with, “You can do that?” By the end of that meeting, he was actually smiling.
Within a year of our meeting, Kyle started rock climbing and playing the drums. He started tandem cycling when we was 11, learned to ski when he was 12, joined the wrestling team as freshman, began playing the guitar at 15, and was voted class president. A couple years after our first meeting, Oprah had us both on her television show. In a classic Oprah moment, Kyle read a Braille note to me on the air about how much that first meeting meant to him—I cried when I heard it.
Kyle and Erik on the Oprah show.
Most parents of blind children have no experience with blindness, no road map and no role models. Kyle’s father has said that exposing his son to what is possible changed his life.
Justin is now 22 and a senior at the University of North Texas. In 1998, at age 10, he was diagnosed with a rare form of macular degeneration called Stargardtz. Though not totally blind, like Kyle, he needs the help of his other teammates for route finding.
Four years ago, in June 2006, I led Kyle, Justin, and Brad on their first international expedition when we hiked a rarely visited area near the famed Inca Trail in the Peruvian Andes. This six-day trip on the Ankascocha Trail was part of a program that I helped found called Leading the Way, which is run by a nonprofit organization, Global Explorers.
Erik and Kyle on the Super Inca Trail.
Leading The Way combines blind and visually-impaired teens with sighted peers for outdoor adventures. For an entire school year, the participants study the history and culture of a country and then travel there to undergo a big adventure…always a stretch and arduous adventure requiring very cohesive teamwork.
After the Inca Trail, Kyle, Justin, Brad, and several other team members decided they wanted to do something bigger. Together they climbed Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. The trip was led by my friend and Everest teammate, Eric Alexander, and was also sponsored by Global Explorers.
Kyle and teammates on the Roof of Africa, Kilimanjaro.
Since then, the core group has bonded into Team Sight Unseen. Over the last few years they have climbed on Mount Hood, Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams, and this past summer, Mount Rainier.
Kyle has come a long way since our first meeting a decade ago, and I’m very proud of him. Aconcagua was among the toughest of my Seven Summits climbs; it took two tries. I can say firsthand it’s a cold hard mountain, but Kyle’s ready for the challenge.
It’s been a major team effort but we just shipped the final edits for the new deluxe edition of my book, The Adversity Advantage to the publisher! This new edition features many stories from my expeditions to the Seven Summits that tie into the key points my co-author, Dr. Paul Stoltz, and I make about turning adversity on its head. There are also 31 color photos from the climbs to give you a better feel for what it’s like to ascend the highest summit on each continent.
I am really stoked about this new edition! The original version, which came out two years ago, was more business oriented. I have tried to make this edition of The Adversity Advantage more readable and personal.
We expect to have the new edition available by August. You will be able to purchase small quantities from your local bookstore (hopefully) or online via Amazon.com. Larger quantities will be available through this web site. We will also offer a package that includes my other book and DVDs.
The city of Mobile, Alabama surprised me with a welcome gift.
