The first time it took me 13 hours. But we were in contact with our base camp who simultaneously was connected to my wife back home and my dad, inside a house stuffed with people who were witnessing this historic event. "I have been to India several times as a child. Wrestling is a sport with only a modest handicap for a blind person because you learn how and where to initiate moves by the feel of the person under you on the mat or on top of you. Finally, Erik’s also the only blind person to have finished the Seven Summits challenge (reaching the highest peaks on each of the continents) — which includes the dreaded Everest. Unlike most in the sighted world, Erik had learnt one important aspect of his disability — he could push on while others fell back, scared at what they were seeing.”As vision started fading, fast, Erik was forced to make his peace. I fought to stay in the sighted world, even refusing to use my cane properly, fighting learning Braille. "The Khumba Ice Fall — along Everest’s slope — was the true test. So, I learned to tap my tool against the face and feel the vibration through the tap on the ice.Since that 2001 Everest climb, Erik has participated in Primal Quest, billed as one of the toughest adventure races in the world — nine days, 60,000 feet of elevation gain, with no timeouts. That record still holds. 

Complete darkness was no trouble for me hey guys, suck it up!”Hours later, they were at a place few have been before — the peak.” ’Family’The parents were one of the first who decided they’ll never give up. At 12, I was beginning to wake up with my eyes not working; it was like a kaleidoscope. "Inside each of us is something I can only describe as a light, which feeds on adversity and consume it like fuel. We have wanted to arrange a tour in India, making some commercial presentations to Indian firms and visiting youth groups as well. "I flipped and flopped but was pinned. I do enjoy the diversity of Indian culture.”In the immediate future though, Erik’s focussing on his third book — about living a "no barriers life”.EverestThe climb to the very top was a decision Erik made after he had already climbed four of the seven summits. And in September, he’s exploring the Walker Spur — a climb through Europe’s Alps. While I can operate independently, she does so many things which makes my life more enjoyable. That definitely wasn’t my best day. He rode a tandem bike through the gruelling Vietnam Challenge from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with injured American and Vietnamese soldiers, covering 1,200 miles in 16 days. My foundation has even discussed bringing our multi-day No Barriers Summit to India. He has led several expeditions with visually-impaired and sighted students, including a climb into Machu Picchu via the Inca Trail, rafting the Grand Canyon, and climbing the Blue Mountains in Australia with Australian students. "We celebrated at the summit but not for too long because weather was moving in and most accidents happen on the way down. Many weeks later, when I left Camp 4 for the summit in the dead of night most of my team had trouble because they couldn’t see. The last time I did it in five hours. We took one practice climb, Lobuche, close to Everest, got turned back at 20,000 feet because of a blizzard — which ended in an emergency descent for one of our climbers, who was injured in a 150-foot fall, but this "test” was turned us into an Everest-ready team.jpg It’s a dream the healthiest of us keep for, much later. His is a life that has transcended limitations. All this from the man who received crushing news quite early in life. The greater the challenge, the brighter the light burns,” says Erik. But in his disability, there was also opportunity. During the years, over 200 highly-trained, professional climbers have lost their lives trying to conquer the 30,000 feet of sheer snow and unpredictable weather. But as it turned out, the very things I resisted, once I learned them, were the things which kept me connected to the sighted world. My mother had to walk me wholesale electric instant heating water faucet into school the first day, which was hugely embarrassing. I had gained some skills, and my teammates were better prepared to guide me.”‘Hey guys, suck it up’As the team ascended, Erik suffered his share of injuries and for the first time in several months, found himself really questioning his decision to climb Mt Everest.And the next time you’re at home whining away a day complaining about the stresses of everyday life, here’s something to ponder; "What’s within us is stronger than what’s in our way. In a separate interview he notes, "As you swing sharp, heavy metal tools at the ice face, you don’t want to knock off a huge chunk of ice the size of a refrigerator, and crush yourself or your teammate. Because Mount Everest is not for all.The school allowed him to wrestle and day one on the mat, in a room he couldn’t see, ended in 20 seconds. And then one day, at the start of my freshman year in school, I woke up blind.It’s a dream the healthiest of us keep for, much later. Mum, meanwhile, died when I was a teenager in an accident — she was my loudest protectorate. My dad put a wrestling mat in the garage and we would work out together. But we had to cross it again and again, to set up the higher camps and to acclimatise. I was in my element though — the fast guy for once.”Erik also had to come up with an entirely new way to deal with ice while climbing. I had stumbled crossing a small crevasse and one teammate, trying to help me, had smashed my nose with his ice axe. eric. Despite his gruelling commute into New York every day, he never missed a wrestling match of mine. He’s also mulling a step into India.” And with intensified training and support came higher goals. I was on the cover of Time, on big TV talk shows. I loved the Taj, loved Fatehpur Sikri, absolutely loved Delhi, loved staying in a houseboat on Dal Lake near Srinagar. "The doctors informed my parents when I was one that I would be blind by 13. So in addition to complete exhaustion I was bleeding and had a broken nose. "My parents set me on my path. By judging that feel and that sound, I determine whether it would be a good or bad ice swing. We set about building a team of people who believed in me and were ready to subordinate their personal ambitions to help get a blind person on top of the world. Not only did a blind guy stand on top of the world but 19 people from our team — of 13 Americans and 8 Sherpas — was the most people from one team were standing on the summit that day. For Erik, it was the culmination of years and years of preparations, hurt and pain. My wife, a teacher, married a blind guy so, she knew what was in store. But he had his doubts. "I admit I was thinking about climbing Everest, but was afraid to say it out loud for fear people would think I am crazy. I was on my way to the life I have today — presentations, adventures, and my foundation, No Barriers..”The foundation was Erik’s idea to help out individuals who were facing physical obstacles similar to his.” Which is the motto of No Barriers. Because Mount Everest is not for all. But with encouragement from my team, I rallied on. Perhaps under a "maybe” or a "someday”. Perhaps under a "maybe” or a "someday”. But my time was still 10 seconds better than the other novices, so I felt pretty good. By tapping into that light, every frustration, every setback, every obstacle becomes a source to power our lives forward. Our team leader, said that the pace was too slow, too dangerous — for both me and the team due to avalanches.”After much training, the climb up Everest began. But I was legally blind from birth. To get a better picture, imagine a kayaker without arms, a runner without legs people overcoming the most overwhelming odds to achieve their highest levels in performance. It’s built on the very strength and determination that put humanity on the Moon and one blind man on the top of Everest. "Reaching Camp 1 the first time, just above the Ice Fall I just collapsed in my tent. "Everest was the event which put my message on the map. His entire life so far has been this one question: Can we, as human beings, simply ignore the most debilitating of problems and go above and beyond what’s possible Because Erik did.”Many doctors had a tough time figuring out what I had because it was so rare — juvenile retinoschesis — a splitting of my retinas for which there was no prevention. Erik was absolutely in the dark. "I was scared that I was going to live a life that didn’t matter, that I would lose all my friends.So Erik’s story is one that needs a certain sense of awe to completely fathom. He’s the only visually-impaired person on the planet to have reached the summit of the known world’s highest mountain

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