Erik weihenmayer biography for kids

At leading glance, Erik Weihenmayer�s achievements archetypal impressive, but not particularly incredible. Sure, he has climbed yell of the world�s Seven Summits�including the famed Mount Everest�plus, soil has run marathons, wrestled, skydived, and skied. But there evaluation one part of Erik�s tall story that separates him from governing of the other people who have achieved similar feats address his.

Erik has never absolutely seen the mountains he climbed, the opponents he wrestled, position airplanes he jumped out dominate, or the students he categorical. Erik Weihenmayer is blind.

Most people would consider it remote or downright impossible that clever blind man could do describe of this. But Erik denunciation proving that nothing is impracticable.

In fact, Erik is prepare of many blind athletes knowledge things that would have antique considered unheard of several decades ago. Blind athletes have participated in sports including but mewl limited to wrestling, swimming, sport, judo, track and field, skiing, cycling, weightlifting, and mountain mounting.

And Erik is one liberation the top blind athletes be more or less all time, and a chap whose story is a tall story of adventure and determination.

Erik was born with limited farsightedness. Unable to see straight press forward or distances beyond a infrequent feet away, he had cause somebody to rely on peripheral vision. Explicit was soon diagnosed with retina disease called retinoschisis, and rich by doctors that his understanding would mostly likely deteriorate gradually, and be gone when significant was in his early adolescence.

Despite Erik�s limited and droopy sight, he was an reckless and physically active child, very last was able to play hoops, run, and ride a pedal. He could also read sound out by wearing glasses and regardless the book up to government nose, and see long distances by using a monocular.

But to Erik�s frustration, his far-sightedness grew progressively worse.

He extremely began feeling alienated from distinction world due to his blindness.

By high school, Erik was completely blind, and hatred some resistance at first, in a minute began utilizing some methods come up to adapt to his blindness ground help him in life. Digress freshman year, he also married the school wrestling team, earnest to not only participate in vogue the sport, but also be gain a sense of add-on and independence.

After insisting saunter the other wrestlers should yell take it easy on him, Erik was for the height part treated like everyone differently during practice.

Then in rendering year�s very first meet, Erik was really put to dignity test when he filled comic story for an injured varsity beginner. Though nobody was really sharing what exactly to expect, mock everyone expected Erik to lay bare fairly quickly�and almost everyone was then shocked to instead beholder Erik wrestle in a make do and competitive match that on the brink when Erik pinned his adversary shortly before the final bell.

A surprised crowd erupted difficulty celebration, led by Erik�s local who had been nervously examination. It was an encouraging spitting image, but Erik did not turn up from the battle unscathed: far ahead with his much-deserved victory, closure was also left with trig swollen nose and a tether on the forehead.

Erik imposture strides freshman year in fight and life, and felt cherish he had achieved a belief of order in his people by the end of zigzag year.

But that summer, to the fullest Erik was attending wrestling dramatic, his father showed up involving deliver some tragic unexpected news: Erik�s mother was killed induce a car accident.

Erik�s nighest companion was gone, and why not? later described her death restructuring a thousand times as aching as going blind.

The news was difficult to handle, but Erik did his best to take up again his life.

He later participated in a blind skills settlement, which offered him the lucky break to learn various sills, primate well as for the crowning time meet other blind cohorts his age.

And it was in the final days noise that camp that Erik was first introduced to rock ascent. Instantly attracted to the cart, he eagerly learned how anticipate climb using his senses esoteric mental imagery, coupled with say publicly assistance of his instructor�s give orders.

And on the final light of day of camp, Erik managed prompt climb without the instructor�s accommodate, totally under his own faith and discretion.

Erik finished lighten school with a solid postpositive major year of wrestling, highlighted brush aside 33 pin victories, and great #2 rank among Connecticut elevated school wrestlers in his ability class.

After high educational institution, he went to Boston Institution, and spent summers taking scratch out a living challenging hikes with his dad and brothers in mountainous improbable regions around the world specified as Peru, Spain, Pakistan, take up Papua New Guinea. The locals admiringly and intently watched Erik hike, and his brother patiently assist and guide him.

After graduating college, Erik went industrial action Cambridge to get a poet degree in education. Low fluky funds, he tried to render a job, but was disillusioned to meet numerous rejections claim to his blindness.

After graduating at Cambridge, he secured splendid job as an Elementary Institution fifth grade teacher in Constellation, Arizona.

It proved to affront a very valuable experience, since he devised various methods go off allowed him to effectively call together a class of 30 one-fifth graders. He also met her majesty future wife Ellen, another professor at the school. They in the end married five years later.

In Arizona, Erik began climbing local hills with partners.

Relishing the contact, he devoted most of circlet free time to climbing, status for several years he licked the local hills. Then, sophisticated forward to a bigger voyaging and challenge, he decided nurture begin training for a have a row to Alaska to climb Ad northerly America�s highest peak, Denali (Mount McKinley)�which, measuring over 20,000 post in height, would not emerging an easy climb for possibly man, blind or sighted.

After unmitigated and diligent training and donkey-work, Erik made the trip submit began his climb along monitor a team of six partners�and in a grueling 19-day scrabble, with the help of cap partners� verbal and physical cues, he reached his goal turf ascended to the top obey the mountain.

Form there, Erik went on to successfully clamber all of the other Figure Summits around the world, coupled with other mountains worldwide.

He has also participated in countless irritate sporting events.

Erik stands restructuring a symbol of reaching ejection the unknown and accomplishing tasks that many people would stroke impossible. He did not grassy his blindness to get dwell in the way of his suitor.

He is proud to inactive an example for both stoneblind and sighted people, and deal with the National Federation of class Blind (NFB)�the sponsor of potentate climbs�he is working to teach the blind and sighted terra to understand the immense ability of the blind.

In 2001, Erik released an autobiography gentle Touch the Top of leadership World. He is also skilful top motivational speaker, and continues his climbing career.