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Steve Wampler has spent the past year training to climb El Capitan — a 3,000-foot mountain located in Yosemite National Park.
Climbing El Capitan is considered a standard challenge in the world of rock climbing, but when Wampler climbs the mountain this week, it will test his endurance more than it would the average rock climber. Wampler, who has cerebral palsy and is severely disabled, has been using a wheelchair all of his life. But he has never let that define him, or get in his way.
“I can do this,” said Wampler, 42, who lives in Coronado, Calif. “It was the biggest challenge I could think of.”
Wampler is hoping he’ll raise $2 million by climbing El Capitan; by raising that much money, he can endow the Wampler Foundation, which aids disabled children around the country. The foundation enables disabled children to spend time at a summer camp and experience outdoor activities (waterskiing, fishing, snorkeling, hiking, etc.) that they might not get to otherwise experience. An environmental engineer by profession, Wampler and his wife have devoted their lives to the foundation.
El Capitan is taller than the tallest building in the world, which is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. In comparison, the Burj Khalifa stands 2,717 feet tall; El Capitan is 3,000 feet of vertical rock. In order to climb it, Wampler will have to sit in a specially-designed chair, hold on to handles that he lifts above his head then pull down to his chest, and propel up the mountain on a rope. Every time he pulls down on the handles, he’ll be moving up 4 to 6 inches. He hopes to do 10,000 to 15,000 pull-ups over a six-day period.
“I’ve always thought I could do anything, I never thought I had a disability,” Wampler said. “I don’t know what the big deal is.”
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