Park City resident, Chris Waddell, became the first paraplegic person to summit Mount Kilimanjaro unassisted.
On September 30, 2009, Waddell posted a short mesage on his blog at One Revolution that read, “We summited today. Slept in the crater last night. Everyone’s asleep. Long day. At hotel tomorrow. Will catch you all up.”
The highest mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro is described as “a walkable mountain.” But for someone who has to use a wheelchair to get around, Kilimanjaro poses a much bigger challenge as the only way for Waddell to ascend the massive peak is by using a custom built hand-cycle.
Waddell’s victorious and historic accomplishment was the culmination of years of planning and hard work. A former Paralympic athelete, Waddell trained by breaking a record for riding the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands in 3 days using his hand cycle. He later took a trip to Kilimanjaro for a test run where several modifications were made to the cycle.
Summiting one of the world’s highest mountains using only his arms isn’t the only challenge that was accomplished. The trip to Africa is all part of a fundraiser to deliver all-terrain wheelchairs to disabled people. Certainly, Waddell’s final push to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro will help him raise the thousands of dollars needed to make his goals a reality.