Noted author and world-class athlete Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind man in history to reach the summit of Mount Everest, will speak to Middle and Upper School students and faculty on Feb. 10 at 9 a.m. in the Huffman Athletic Center. Lower School families, other parents and alumni, and members of the Rome-Floyd County community are also invited to hear Weihenmayer during a special presentation on Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the same location.
“I am so grateful that our students and members of our community will have this opportunity to hear Erik’s inspirational story,” said Headmaster Tom Whitworth. “He has overcome a challenge that many of us can only imagine and has literally conquered physical barriers in the process. I hope that all of us will take a moment to reflect on what it truly means to have ‘vision.’”
A former middle school teacher and wrestling coach, Weihenmayer is one of the most inspirational athletes in the world. Despite losing his vision at the age of 13, he has become an accomplished mountain/ice/rock climber, skier, acrobatic skydiver, long-distance biker and marathon runner. His motivational speaking career has taken him around the world, sharing the speaking platform with notables like George Bush Jr., Rudy Giuliani, Al Gore, Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf. He speaks to audiences on harnessing the power of adversity, the importance of a “rope team” and the daily struggle to pursue your dreams.
Seven years after climbing the world’s highest peak, Weihenmayer completed his quest to climb the Seven Summits – the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. He is joined by fewer than 100 mountaineers who have accomplished this feat. Additionally, he has scaled El Capitan, a 3,300-foot overhanging granite monolith in Yosemite; Lhosar, a 3,000-foot ice waterfall in the Himalayas; and a difficult and rarely climbed rock face on 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya.
After Weihenmayer’s Mt. Everest ascent, Braille Without Borders, a school for the blind in Tibet, invited him to teach its students mountaineering and rock climbing. His successes gave the teenagers the courage to excel in a culture that affords few opportunities for the blind. After several months of training, he led the students on a climb to the Rombuk Glacier on the north side of Mt. Everest. At 21,500 feet, the teenagers had climbed higher than any team of blind people in history.
Weihenmayer is the author of the book, “Touch the Top of the World,” published in 10 countries and six languages. His second book, “The Adversity Advantage: Turning Everyday Struggles Into Everyday Greatness,” was co-authored with best-selling author Dr. Paul Stoltz. He has also been published in Time, Forbes and Reader’s Digest. His award-winning film, “Farther Than the Eye Can See,” was ranked in the Top 20 adventure films of all time by Men’s Journal. Bringing home first prize at 19 film festivals and nominated for two Emmy’s, the film beautifully captures the emotion, humor and drama of his historic ascent as well as his team’s three other remarkable “firsts” – the first American father/son team to summit, the oldest man to summit and the most people from one team to reach the top of Everest in a single day.
Additionally, Weihenmayer is the co-founder of No Barriers, a non-profit organization with a goal of promoting innovative ideas, approaches and assistive technologies that help people with disabilities push through their own personal barriers to live full and active lives. He also serves as a National Braille Literacy Champion on behalf of the American Foundation for the Blind.
The noted athlete has made repeated appearances on NBC’s Today Show and Nightly News, Oprah, Good Morning America, Nightline, and the Tonight Show. He also been featured on the cover of Time, Outside and Climbing Magazine. Weihenmayer’s incredible feats have earned him an ESPY Award, recognition by Time magazine for one of the greatest sporting achievements of 2001, induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, an ARETE Award for the superlative athletic performance of the year, the Helen Keller Lifetime Achievement Award, Nike’s Casey Martin Award and the Freedom Foundation’s Free Spirit Award. He has also carried the Olympic Torch for both the Summer and Winter Games.
This speaking engagement is made possible through the generosity of an anonymous member of the Darlington Board of Trustees and several alumni. For more information on Weihenmayer, visit www.touchthetop.com.
