The first blind person to summit, Erik
8,844.43 meters, this is the awe-inspiring height of the world’s rooftop. For countless years, innumerable people have attempted to conquer it. Yet, only a few have succeeded.
It is too high to reach, too fraught with danger — so why climb?
Because, the mountain is there.
This quote from British mountaineer Mallory has become the motto of countless climbers. But in 1924, Mallory was lost forever at 8,100 meters on Everest. Twenty-nine years after Mallory’s death, the world’s rooftop welcomed New Zealander Edmund Hillary. Together with his Nepalese guide Tenzing Norgay, they successfully summited on May 29, 1953.
Now, 60 years after the first summit, over 6,000 people have reached the top. Among them are 73-year-old Tabei Junko, 80-year-old Yuichiro Miura, Arunima Sinha who lost a leg, and blind climber Erik Weihenmayer...
Why do they challenge Everest?
“Summiting Everest with eyes closed”
Everest helped Erik redefine blindness.
At 13, the world suddenly went dark
What is blindness? Is it losing color, living in a pitch-black world that shuts you out? By summiting Everest, Erik redefined blindness: blindness is not the loss of sight, but the loss of courage.
In mid-May 2001, as Pascal looked at Erik Weihenmayer, he couldn’t help but worry about the team again. They were at the foot of Everest, and Erik — the initiator of this Everest summit attempt — was blind.
Erik was born in Connecticut, USA. From an early age, he knew he had a rare genetic disease that would cause him to go blind in his teens.
Fear accompanied him day and night, and perhaps because of that, he learned how to live with fear.
At 13, Erik completely lost his sight. “Blindness hit me like a hurricane, so fierce and overwhelming. I wasn’t afraid of going blind, I was afraid of being marginalized, forgotten, of life becoming meaningless.”
As his vision faded, he would press his face close to the TV, trying to catch the last traces of color in the world. A TV series inspired him. The protagonist had lost a leg but decided to run across Canada. “I felt a light shining before me.”
A few months later, he received a promotional letter from a Braille organization teaching blind children rock climbing. He signed up without hesitation.
Later, he ordered a Braille book about Edmund Hillary’s Everest climb. Feeling the Braille with his fingers, he imagined what Everest looked like. “As I read, I envisioned with anxiety and joy the two pioneers standing on a 12-meter-high rock just 60 meters from the summit, eagerly waiting to climb up.”
Guided by bells toward the summit
That early “encounter” with Everest inspired Erik to start living anew. He exercised, did pull-ups, often ending up with bruises at first, but through constant trial and error, he mastered the technique.
He loved wrestling and competed in the U.S. high school wrestling championships.
He loved rock climbing. When climbing, he moved as nimbly as Spider-Man, stretching his arms out and visualizing the path ahead in his mind.
He loved mountaineering even more. Without sight, he used his ears. Over the years, he trained himself to navigate by the sound of bells hanging on the ropes of fellow climbers ahead.
In 1997, Erik got married, with the wedding held atop Mount Kilimanjaro, which he had just conquered.
By then, Erik had gained some fame in the climbing community, but he wasn’t sure about Everest. Everest devours those who are unprepared, and 90% of climbers fail to summit.
“Hey man, do you want to climb Everest?”
In 1999, Erik met Pascal, who had climbed Everest.
Pascal’s words struck a chord in Erik’s heart, and he was moved. The U.S. National Federation of the Blind funded them $250,000, and a climbing team called “2001 NFB Everest Expedition” was formed, with the goal of summiting Everest in 2001.
No one knows how many sleepless nights Eric endured in those two years. He kept thinking about whether his decision was a fatal mistake. "People think that because I'm blind and can't see the abyss beneath my feet, I won't feel afraid," Eric said. "That's ridiculous. Death is death, whether I can see it or not."
Some people mocked him, saying, "Even someone like me, who is fully sighted, wouldn't do such a stupid thing."
The ridicule only strengthened Eric's resolve: "When other people's predictions become obstacles, the best way is to overcome them."
Eric didn’t need any special assistance while climbing. As long as the teammate in front wore a small bell, he could follow the sound and move forward on his own. He climbed quickly, often even bumping into the person ahead of him.
On the ice mountain, mistakenly striking the wrong part of the ice could trigger an avalanche at any moment. Eric learned to gently tap the ice with his ice axe to assess its stability. If he heard a clear, ringing sound, he knew to steer clear.
In 2001, the climbing team arrived at Everest Base Camp and began intense training.
One teammate tied a bell to the climbing gear. Eric, using a specially made trekking pole, followed the sound closely. When they reached dangerous sections, teammates would shout warnings, such as: "Death Valley is half a meter to your right!" or "There's a huge crevasse to your left!"
However, during the climb, Eric faced many unimaginable challenges. He recalled crossing the Khumbu Icefall on the southern slope of Everest. This 609-meter expanse of ice required traversing ten times with heavy equipment.
"As I navigated the maze-like path, I could hear the creaking of massive icicles above my head."
It took Eric 13 hours to cross the 609 meters—far longer than the stipulated 7 hours. His teammates wanted to carry him through, but he firmly refused.
The next day, he returned to base camp and started crossing again. Eventually, with his teammates’ help, he successfully crossed the icefall ten times, leaving Pascal speechless.
Climbing Everest — A Blind Man’s Solo Journey
On May 24th, just seven days remained before the end of the climbing season. Everyone knew this was the team’s last chance. The climbers launched a final push, moving slowly like ants, bundled in bulky, puffed-up clothing and weighed down by heavy oxygen tanks. Yet Eric remained optimistic. His teammate Alexander said, "He’s the soul of our whole team. This guy’s spirit can drive you forward forever."
On May 25th, Eric and seven teammates pushed toward the summit.
Amidst the ice and snow, the bells kept ringing. As they neared the summit, Eric’s advantages became more apparent. The other climbers’ goggles and oxygen masks severely limited their vision, while Eric moved freely. Additionally, since the final push began at midnight, the others proceeded with extreme caution, whereas for Eric, it felt no different than climbing in daylight.
They reached the South Summit at 8,748 meters, where many climbers had turned back. To reach the top, they had to first tackle the infamous "Hillary Step." The ridge leading to it, about 180 meters long, was made of ice and fractured rock surfaces, as sharp and smooth as a blade. The only way across was to secure ice axes. Each time Eric struck the ice with his axe, he could feel the rocks shifting beneath him—he could fall into the abyss at any moment...
Finally, Eric arrived at the Hillary Step—the place he’d dreamed of since he was a teenager and the last obstacle before the summit. It took him over 40 minutes to traverse the 17-meter rock face.
"I was wedged in a crevice, feeling around for handholds with my hands, one foot pressing against a rock, the other stuck in an ice ledge. After 40 minutes, when my brain could barely control my body and I felt like I was crawling through wet concrete in a daze, my teammate Maurice grabbed me and said hoarsely, 'Great Everest, I think you’re about to stand on top of the world.'"
At 10:00 AM on May 25, 2001, Eric successfully summited Mount Everest, becoming the world’s first blind person to conquer the peak.
Looking back now, Eric says he thought about giving up twenty times a day back then. But, "we couldn’t give up, because giving up means losing the most precious thing humanity has: the freedom to choose our own path."