Ok, I know I’m going to get a lot of flack on this, but here goes nothing.
Tell me if I’m completely misunderstanding just how hard it is (because I‘m a NON-athletic disabled person and I don‘t participate in adapted sports), but if someone in a wheelchair gets pulled up a mountain, yet does do some of the work on their own using whatever arm strength they have, can you really say they “climbed” a mountain? Or is saying so just being nice?
Reading the headline today, Woman conquers Kilimanjaro in wheelchair, is what got me thinking about all of this. A really hot blonde para by the name of Erica Davis (from Lodi, CA) just climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro on Feb. 1st, with what looks like an awesome crew of people, all for the sake to bring awareness to physical athletes, and she’s the first paraplegic to ever get to the Kilimanjaro summit.
Cool, cool, cool. So they did it, Erica did get a headache at the summit (not surprisingly), due to the elevation, and now the crew is on their way home. Both Magic Wheels and Colours Wheelchairs sponsored the climb. They’re even making a documentary about the climb, Through the Roof, which you can read more about here.
But really….was this a real “climb?” I’ve been a secret cynic on quads and paras “climbing” mountains for years. I just don’t think the word “climb” should be used to describe what they‘re doing. It’s more like “climb-assist,” or something like that. They’re receiving a lot of help and what they did - albeit it being very effing cool - is still nothing compared to the work an AB person has to put into a climb.
As a wheelchair-user myself, I almost feel traitorous even thinking this, but Hell, I was able-bodied once. I can’t help it. Go ahead, razz me. I probably deserve it.
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