Since Monday, Wampler, 42, has been pulling himself up the 3,000-foot face of El Capitan’s Zodiac Route. He was set to finish Friday evening. Inspired by previous El Capitan climbs by disabled people, such as the 1989 ascent by Mark Wellman, Wampler is the first person with cerebral palsy to scale the rock face.
Hundreds of climbers attempt to climb El Capitan each year, but the National Park Service doesn’t keep records because the climb doesn’t require a permit. Wampler was being helped along the way by Tommy Thompson, a veteran rock climber who also climbed with Wellman, the first paraplegic to make the climb in 1989.
Read the entire Merced Sun-Star article here.
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As many of you know Steve Wampler (Coronado local) is climbing Yosemite’s El Capitan. Steve will be the first with cerebral palsy to climb El Cap (3,000 feet)! It will take 6 days to scale a vertical granite face twice the height of the Empire State Building. He’s doing this to raise awareness and funds for the Stephen J. Wampler Foundation and continue sending disabled children to camp.
Being a disabled kid is a big challenge to overcome. It has been my passion and life’s work to give these children a start in life they would never have had, with challenging wilderness programs.
I was born with severe Cerebral Palsy and I use a power chair, but I now feel fortunate in life and I wouldn’t change it for anything! At nine years old, my parents enrolled me in an annual wilderness camp in the High Sierras where I fished, hiked, played in the lake and slept under the stars. I learned I could do anything I set my mind to and it became my favorite place on earth.
Ten years and thousands of happy ‘Wampler Kids’ later, my quest continues to champion young adventurers by directly funding these life-changing experiences at no cost to their families. None of this, of course, is possible without your generosity. Any amount that you can contribute, large or small, will make a big difference in helping disabled kids to live richer lives.
Follow along with Steve on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wampler-Foundation/140723361532?ref=ts
Check out these amazing videos of Steve’s climb:
Diane Sawyer talks about Steve’s climb (wow).
