I came across two very cool articles regarding the recent successful climb of Bridal Veil Falls in Colorado by Erik Weihenmayer and Chad Jukes. Most people know that Weihenmayer lost his sight as a teenager, and famously went on to summit Everest, but his climbing partner Jukes is an amputee who lost his right leg below the knee from in injury in Iraq. Together they make quite an inspirational duo, tackling the 360 foot falls, along with veteran guide Mike Gibbs.
I first posted on this story over at the Primal Quest site earlier today, where we had a great first hand account of the climb written by my friend Craig Stein, who I met at last year’s race. Craig had the opportunity to interview both Erik and Chad about their climb, and what it was like scaling one of the most challenging and demanding ice climbs in North America. The photo that accompanies this post was taken by Craig, and you can see more of his work on his website at PhotoExpress-It.com.
The National Geographic Adventure Blog has also posted an interview with Weihenmayer in which they talk about the climb, how he prepares for a tough route like this one, both physically and mentally, and much much more. The photo that accompanies that story also does a great job of giving the scale of the climb, and apparently the whole affair was being filmed by Serac Adventure Films for an upcoming release.
Very cool story that helps you reassess what can and can’t be done. Amazing climb for both Erik and Chad.
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There’s a great documentary on Erik called “Farther Than the Eye Can See”.
It’s available for free here:
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/farther_than_the_eye_can_see/
Oh yeah! That is a great documentary, I’ve seen it before. Nice find! 🙂