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skibabeage
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Mar 30, 2005, 5:53 PM
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duckfeet08
Mar 30, 2005, 7:04 PM
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I thought this was already done in 2001 by Erik Weihenmayer.
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atg200
Mar 30, 2005, 8:50 PM
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that claim is pretty damn disingenuous. i fail to to see the difference in the accomplishment of an everest ascent by a blind guy who has never been able to see anything and a blind guy who hasn't seen anything for many years.
this is sort of like a guy who was only born with one leg claiming the first one legged ascent of everest, when in fact another guy with one leg who lost it in a tractor accident climbed everest previously.
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cfmwh
Mar 30, 2005, 9:29 PM
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I can not believe no one has said anything along the lines of: THAT'S FREAKING AWESOME...go Gerrard, go.
I wish him good travels and great climbing, just make sure he gets back to that daughter of his safe and sound!
Make sure you post updates.
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cfmwh
Mar 30, 2005, 9:33 PM
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delete: double post
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atg200
Mar 30, 2005, 9:40 PM
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In reply to: Then would you feel better if he said "first congenitally blind guy as a result of aniridia and from Australia to summit Everest?"
it would certainly be a lot more honest.
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tradnomad
Mar 30, 2005, 9:42 PM
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In reply to: Then would you feel better if he said "first congenitally blind guy as a result of aniridia and from Australia to summit Everest?"
Yes. Or if he just said he is blind and attempting to climb Everest.
But if he is claiming (aka lying) that he will be the first blind person to summit Everest then he is diminishing the accomplishment of Weihenmayer whether he means to or not, and his own as well.
In any case he might not have claimed that he wants to be the first, it could have been a typo by the news agency. In that case, all the best of luck to him.
TN
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kman
Mar 30, 2005, 9:46 PM
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The bottom line is if it was already climbed by a blind person he will not be the first blind person to have climbed it if he makes it. Anyhow....very impressive none the less. One hell of an accomplishment. Best of luck to him.
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philbox
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Mar 30, 2005, 10:22 PM
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Well he`s certainly the first blind Brisbane guy to attempt to climb Everest.
Nice to hear of a local hitting world climbing news eh. I reckon anyone heading up into that sort of altitude blind or not deserves some sort of recognition. Particularly seeing as I hate the cold.
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caughtinside
Mar 30, 2005, 10:40 PM
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I'm wondering how he feels about diminishing Eric's accomplishment of being the FIRST BLIND PERSON to summit Everest. :P
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yujidude
Mar 30, 2005, 11:12 PM
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When I was a senior in highschool, Erik came and spoke to our graduating class. It was really rather inspirational to hear about his climbing. Born blind or not, he's an amazing guy.
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caughtinside
Mar 30, 2005, 11:26 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: I'm wondering how he feels about diminishing Eric's accomplishment of being the FIRST BLIND PERSON to summit Everest. :P Please read the posts made before yours. It's already been addressed.
Really? It's been addressed? It's still on the front page of this website.
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theledge
Mar 30, 2005, 11:56 PM
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Shit happens fast around here...... unless you need info on a route. First or not I dont care. It is pretty badass on his part. Its good to know that there are still options for people with severe disabilities.
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mcumbrae
Mar 31, 2005, 12:41 AM
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I don´t mean any disrespect or anything, but to me, the real heroes here are the sherpas that put them on the summit, and nobody says anything about them... ever :?
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atg200
Mar 31, 2005, 2:18 AM
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In reply to: While tests have been run evidencing that vision is not affected in glaucoma patients up to 10,000 feet elevation, he'll be up almost 3 times that elevation.
it sure would be a bitch if his vision got blurrier from it.
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shiva523
Mar 31, 2005, 3:09 AM
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In reply to: i fail to to see the difference in the accomplishment of an everest ascent by a blind guy who has never been able to see anything and a blind guy who hasn't seen anything for many years
hence he's the first congenitally blind man to climb everst, congenital referring to a condition being present at birth, not one that developed through the course of an individual's life. That's the claim he's making. I wish him luck on his expedition
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gochubug
Mar 31, 2005, 3:37 AM
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He does have one disadvantage that Erik didn't have, and that is that he apparently still has his natural eyes in his head. That will make him subject to some serious, possibly debilitating, pain if the air pressure does affect the glaucoma. I might be wrong about this, but I believe that by the time he climbed Everest, both of Erik's eyes had been replaced with glass prosthetics. Anyone know for sure?
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greengoblin
Apr 1, 2005, 4:03 PM
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wasted time
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johnhemlock
Apr 5, 2005, 6:37 PM
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In reply to: shit happens fast around here...... unless you need info on a route.
Best laugh of the week! Thanks.
Also, seeing as he just departed, perhaps we shouldn't fellate the guy quite yet. Kind of like congratulating a guy for swimming the English channel when he is just putting on his trunks.
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crazyblindchick
Apr 18, 2005, 10:30 PM
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There is a conceivable difference between being born blind and going blind - each presenting their own benefits and challenges. I'd say the difference lies in the way they might think about things- Erik is able to conceptualize somewhat what things might look like since he could draw from earlier memories. This fellow can't even imagine- doesn't even know what the color "blue" looks like. I think one could then safely say that since they may think about things differently, they then solve problems slightlly differently - and that's really what climbing is all about.
With all due respect for sherpas and the amazing hard work they do, I find it horrific to read that someone should thing a sherpa "put" someone at the top of Everest. I don't know anything about this Austrailian guy, but all you have to do is read Erik's book to know that no one "put" him anywhere. He most certainly carried his own as an equally-contributing teammate.
Best of luck to everyone who wishes to summit anything. If you want to be the first guy from Texas with ancestors from Wales, talks with a lisp, and has a nasal twitch to summit Everest - go right ahead. It's a damned feat no matter who you are.
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climb_likeagirl_
Jun 25, 2005, 10:38 PM
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I was in CO climbing yesterday when i saw this blind guy climbing at Rockn and Jamn climbng gym in Thornton. He was leading 5.10+ and also lead belaying his partner. it was probably the most inspirational thing i have seen for a long time!!! It's amazing!
keep it up dude-your awesome!
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rickrock77
Jun 27, 2005, 1:44 PM
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Well some interesting points have been made. Obviously some people, are concerned he may get attention for the wrong or the not so politically correct reason.
Is that to say he doesnt deserve recognition? I think we all agree on the merits of what he is attempting to do, but some just disagree with how it is presented in the media?
So why dont we first blame the media, because they tell us how they want to hear it. And for me, as an Australian, I am proud to know he is the first blind australian to climb everest, and will indeed wish him all the best.
To finish this comment, I would like to remind you all that he may also be known as the first blind person to die while trying for everest. Does anyone then wish to complain, that they have not termed his death correctly?
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rocloco
Jun 28, 2005, 4:06 AM
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Oh for the day that hiking something while blind is not newsworthy! This guy has been walking around blind his whole life. What's the big deal? He's just another guy trying to climb Everest. Which is ENOUGH to deserve a certain amount of respect. Honestly it seems the blind have certain advantages with technically moderate mountain climbs. I mean he's gotta be money in a white out. If it clomes down to it I'd rather follow a blind dude in zero visibility over an experienced sherpa. Ok, maybe not, but seriously....other than the fact he's trying to get to the top of Everest...what's the big deal if he's blind?
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rickrock77
Jun 28, 2005, 2:43 PM
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to rcloco, I agree with most of what you said. The last part you mentioned about whats the big deal?..
I challenge you to choose a an area to go hiking which will take at leaste 30 minutes to hike up, and then another 30 minutes to hike down, now before you do that, put on a blindfold, and obviously you will have to follow someone..
So work out a system to communicate with them and for them to tell you how to step over certain obstackles.
Now just do that once, and then come back here and answer your question about whats the big deal.
I will not respect your future comments untill I can see that you want to actually find out the anwser yourself to your own question.
This is not a flame, or an insult, simply a reply so dont take it as me having a go at you.
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rocloco
Jun 28, 2005, 5:31 PM
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Rick,
I understand that for you or me it would be next to impossible. I had a friend that was blind when I was in highschool and we used to occasionally play a variation of t-ball called beep ball. Blinfolds for the sighted naturally. I could barely even make it to 1st base. Here she could sprint at full tilt all the way around to homeplate. I def would have serious trouble just hiking down a straight and even sidewalk blindfolded. Anyway all I'm saying is that for someone who's been blind all their life, they're used to it. It's normal. No biggie.
I can see where the air pressure could affect glaucoma etc and make it more difficult, but from a sight only perspective I think it's a fairly level playing field. Idk, maybe I'm just thinking like a jack ass today.
Maybe a sighted person should try it blindfolded. Now THAT would be impressive. The 1st sighted person to climb Everest...BLINDFOLDED!
FYI - I wasn't offended by your post at all. I generally expect people to disagree with me when I share my thoughts on a public forum.
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