Description

pp. 304, b/w photographs, “Weihenmayer is an extraordinary individual, adventurer, and athlete. On their own, his exploits as a mountain climber would be sufficient material for an exciting book, but there’s an additional element Weihenmayer is blind. He began to lose his sight as a child, owing to a degenerative eye disorder, and was totally blind by his teens. Added to this trauma was the death of his mother in an automobile accident. The onset of blindness and the loss of a beloved parent might have destroyed a less resilient individual, but Weihenmayer has been able to turn his frustrations and fears into positive accomplishments. He has scaled the 3000′ wall of El Capitan in Yosemite, made it to the top of Argentina’s Aconcagua, climbed the vertical ice wall of Alberta, Canada’s Polar Circus, and plans an ascent of Mt. Everest in March 2001. Oh, yes, he also married his longtime sweetheart on the Shira Plateau of Mt. Kilimanjaro (which he summited) in 1997 and became the father of a daughter in 2000. Weihenmayer recounts all of these climbing experiences as well as his childhood struggle to deal with the onset of blindness and his efforts to obtain employment. This inspirational story is highly recommended for all public libraries.”Signed and inscribed by the author on dedicatory page