Waddell tells media of Kili expedition

By Eric Williams

For the first time since summiting Africa’s tallest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro (Sep. 30) , Paralympian Chris Waddell spoke to the media last Friday at a press conference in Salt Lake City. The twelve-time Winter Paralympic medalist shared his story of the eight-day, 50-mile trek and what it took to get there.

Waddell trained all summer long in the mountains near his home in Park City, Utah and on the slick rocks of Moab, Utah. His motivation? To help breaking down the barriers and stereotypes facing the world’s disabled population. 

“I thought that if I could climb Kilimanjaro it’s something people can understand; it’s sort of man versus mountain and people understand that,” said Waddell.

While a member of the Middlebury Collage Ski Team Waddell, was paralyzed from the waist down after a skiing accident at age 20. He then took up the monoski and went on to revolutionize the sport, claiming 12 Winter Paralympic medals, nine World Championship medals and a Summer Paralymic sliver medal won at the Sydney, Australia Games.
 
“Sport, as a disabled individual, is a great way to break down the barriers between the disabled world and the able-bodied world and ultimately surprise people,” said the 40-year-old, Massachusetts native. “Where you see I was a ski racier and I think we were going 70 miles per hour in the downhill at Snowbasin in 2002. That sort of forces people to revisit what it means to be disabled.”

Waddell, his eight-person One-Revolution crew, and more than 50 local porters set off on Sep. 25 with the mission of making Waddell the first paraplegic to ever summit the 19,000-foot mountain. Using only the strength of his arms, Waddell pedaled his way up every inch in a custom-made, four-wheel vehicle called “Kupwa Bomba,” Tanzanian for “huge cool.” Waddell spent nine hours a day at the helm of the vehicle, which features a custom designed wench used to crank over large obstacles and steep terrain.    
 
“It’s a four-wheel vehicle; you can steer with your chest in addition to the handle bars,” Waddell explained. “You’re going from boulder-sized rocks to some bigger rocks.”

A special guest on the expedition was former mountain porter Tajiri, a Tanzanian leg amputee. Waddell’s One-Revolution Foundation, which raises money to provide disabled people in developing countries with wheelchairs, provided the man with is prosthetic leg. “He’s the first Tanzanian leg amputee to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro,” Waddell said.

The entire journey was filmed for a documentary that Waddell and his team are currently working on editing and producing. The men behind the cameras got a special look at how deep Waddell had to dig to defeat the mountain. 

“Chris never hit the wall, and it was remarkable to watch,” videographer Patrick Reddish said.

“During the roughest parts, I would look at Chris and crack a joke, and he would look at me and crack a joke back.” Photographer Mike Stoner added.

Waddell, an inspiration to disabled and able-bodied people alike, also took time to tell the media of his personal philosophy. 

“Tragedy is the thing that will join all of us,” said Waddell. “What happens to us isn’t nearly as significant as what we do with what happens to us.”

Click here to watch a video of the climb. You can also see images of Waddell’s journey here.

Image by Mike Stoner