"Many people say they go to the mountains because of the beautiful views. All this is nonsense. You will not endure hardship for three months only because of the beautiful pictures. I think people go to the mountains <...> for the acquisition of sense... ".
These are the words of Eric Veyenmayera - the first climber who conquered seven highest mountain peaks, being totally blind.
Riot small Eric
"Retinoshiziz - retinal separation. Your son lost his eyesight to 11 years " - terrible "sentence" heard the parents of three doctors from Eric one of the clinics in Boston in 1971.
With each passing year the boy had seen worse, but despite this, parents have taken a resolute decision - to send their son to a regular, rather than a specialized school. Eric - a fighter from birth, therefore lasted two years longer than the predictions of doctors - the boy was blinded in the 13th.
Walk the streets, dress, bring a spoon to her mouth, to read - 13-year-old had to learn to live again. Eric revolted: he broke a cane, which he bought, basically did not go to the school bus for disabled, forbade him to help.
Eric did not immediately able to devote their energies from destructive to constructive way, but once he realized that blindness - not a sentence, and freedom! Indeed, throughout his life he was forbidden to engage in sports (exercise provoke disease progression). Now nothing to lose - Eric went to school team wrestling. He soon became its captain.
At 16 he got his first guide dog - Wizard (Wizard). It was a specially trained dog that will not only become the "eyes" of Eric, but also the best friend for many years.
Together with Eric Wizard once, during the next summer holidays, I went to training camp with the Massachusetts Center for the Blind. There he learned to feel things for the first time tried the climbing shoes, a helmet and a "gazebo". For the first time, and forever.
Touch the top of the world
College, archeology, the work of the teacher, the training of children's football team - the life of Eric could not be called boring. But his heart was only the mountains, but the idea - to conquer the "Seven Summits".
"Seven Summits of the world" - the dream of the climbers, meaning the conquest of 7 continents highest peaks. It succeeded only about 100 athletes.
The first from the "Seven Summits" Eric Veyenmayer in June 1995 struck McKinley - the highest mountain in North America. "I was afraid that made a terrible mistake, and doubted whether I have enough forces to halt next» - it was the first really serious climbing Eric (before there were mountains of Pamir and Batura glacier). Despite all the difficulties, he overcame the touch 6194 m.
The second invisible vertex fallen to Veyenmayera feet - Kilimanjaro (5895 m). Even as a teacher, he became acquainted with a cute girl Ellen. They were colleagues, spent a lot of time together, especially since she shared the main passion of Eric - climbing. In 1997, Eric and Ellen were on an expedition to Kilimanjaro - on the Shira plateau held their wedding.
Third was South American Aconcagua. This altitude (6960 m) Veyenmayer taken in January 1999 at the second attempt (the first was in the winter 1997). "We can achieve a lot if you do not try to stop" - one of life's credo Eric, who helped him not to fold on the way to his dream.
A year later, in 2000, Veyenmayer climbed to the highest point of the stern of the continent - Vinson Massif (4897 m). Even getting there was not easy, even harder was the expedition itself: "At the top - about -50º. Legs cramping, lips blue. I tried to go to the toilet - since I have a personal definition of the word "cold". "
A year later, in May 2001, it held the most famous climbing Veyenmayera. "The blind climber to conquer Everest" - are full of headlines of the world press. Eric himself recalled: "I felt that the right and left of me are the abyss. And then my partner Luis Benitez (He walked in front of Eric and bells to indicate to him the way - prim.avtora) He said, "could go no farther." And I realized that we came - I felt the open space; on top of the sound does not bounce off of things, and goes to infinity. And it's fascinating sound. "
Everest was for Elbrus (June 2002), the ascent to which was organized jointly with the Russian athletes. Specifically for this expedition Eric mastered skiing.
It should be noted that among climbers debates are still what the top of the seventh count - peak Kosciuszko (Australia, 2228 m) or the Carstensz Peak (Indonesia, 4884 m). Eric Veyenmayer decided to win a stunning victory, leaving no reason for the rumors: in 2002 he won Kosciuszko, and in 2008 - Carstensz.
change of mind
Mountain victory - not only in Eric's life. In addition to climbing, he is engaged in kayaking, skiing, racing, cycling, and always succeeds. His name is listed in the US National Wrestling Hall of Fame (National Wrestling Hall of Fame); he was awarded the Distinguished Arizonan Award Prize and other awards.
He developed his own school educational program, he has written several books (one of them was shot in 2006 movie), But the main thing - it does not seek no excuses and teaches it to others.
"I would be insincere if I had not told about her deep sense of satisfaction of a victory over those people, cynics, who think stereotypes and narrow categories. I dispelled all their doubts about what is possible and what is impossible, breaking with their stupid arguments to pieces, into a million pieces. If all these stereotypes will be restored again, thousands and thousands of people will be living with the obstacles that regularly build in front of them. If my ascent will be able to play even a small role in the half-open these opportunities and give hope the people who come after us, I'm very proud that all of us together could something to achieve. "
A photo: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5