Trekkers Shatter All Doubts, Reach Mt. Everest Base Camp
Austin mountaineer Gary Guller leads climbers with disabilities
on historic expedition
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Dennis Borel, Project Director
(512) 478-3366 M-F days
(512) 431-1656 or (512) 443-6038 other times
E-mail: dborel@cotwd.org
AUSTIN, TEXAS April 6, 2003
They have achieved a goal many considered unthinkable. While most
Americans slept soundly in their beds late Saturday night, a determined
group of people with disabilities on the other side of the world
made the final steps of an often grueling 16-day journey, reaching
Mt. Everest Base Camp at 17,500 ft.
Said Team Leader Gary Guller, “I've never seen such a determined
team, fully focused on achieving this goal and understanding the
historic event that has taken place. We are feeling the effects
of altitude and the time we have been on the trail, but we are thrilled
to be here. Most folks are not aware that only 1 in 10 people ever
reach the base camp of Mount Everest.”
Team Everest ’03, a benefit for the non-profit Coalition of
Texans with Disabilities (CTD), began in Austin, Texas in January
2002 and included a host of public awareness events and intense
preparation for all members. Guller made several training climbs
on major mountains across the world, including Mt. Kilimanjaro,
Mt. Aconcagua and Makalu and Baruntse in the Nepal Himalaya.
Members of historic Team Everest '03 at Base Camp include:
Gary Scott, 44, Expedition
Co-leader, Colorado Springs, CO
Mark Ezzell, 39,
grants manager with spina bifida, North Carolina
Sandra Murgia, 43,
retired military, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, arthritis and leg
paralysis, Austin, TX
Barry Muth, 44, Community
Integration Specialist with quadriplegia, San Antonio, TX
Dinesh Ranasinghe,
25, Web Developer with a leg amputation, San Antonio, TX
Matt Standridge,
24, Retail Associate with paraplegia, San Marcos, TX
Christine White,
50 Human Resources Manager with severe childhood hearing loss, Austin,
TX
Riley Woods, 28,
Student with paraplegia, Waco, TX
Team members Gene
Rodgers, 47, a writer with quadriplegia from Austin, TX, and
Rob Rodgers, 40,
a salesman with clinical depression and an anxiety disorder from
Parma Heights, Ohio, trekked to within three hours of Base Camp
before a sudden medical condition unrelated to altitude struck Gene,
forcing the brothers to head back down. Gene received medical attention
and is recovering in Kathmandu. Kim
Smith, 38, Advocacy Coordinator with Hip Dysplagia, Fibromyalgia,
Bipolar condition, Howe, TX, Tenzing
Sherpa, 40, with a leg amputation, Nepal and Lakpa
Dorchi Sherpa, 70, with an arm amputation, Nepal turned back
due to altitude related problems.
News of the successful trek reached Austin where Texas Governor
Rick Perry said, "I applaud the members of Team Everest for
this incredible accomplishment. They stand as a reminder to us all
that each day represents a new opportunity to achieve new goals.
And limits should never be placed on the ability of the human mind
or the potential of the human spirit."
This portion of the journey a success, Guller and a high altitude
team will attempt the summit, weather and conditions permitting.
Guller hopes to stand atop the mountain in late May and become the
first person with one arm to climb to the 29,035-foot peak.
"In climbing Mt. Everest, I hope to raise awareness and support
for the potential of people with disabilities and to show that life
and dreams continue," says Guller. "Team Everest '03 members
embody responsibility, leadership, physical determination and strength.
Team Everest '03 has a powerful message. It models how society can
open the door of opportunity to all people, regardless of their
ability or disability."
Before even leaving for Nepal, the Team's voyage generated a tremendous
wellspring of interest and support, including seeing Guller and
team featured on the cover of the new Austin 2003 phone book, Time
Magazine and multiple radio, TV and print news stories. In addition,
they received the Barbara Jordan Media Award from the Texas Governor's
Office, and the Texas House of Representatives proclaimed March
4, 2003 as Team Everest '03 Day. In a congratulatory letter from
the President's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports, Chairman
Lynn Swann encourages all of America to follow the progress of the
expedition.
Upon their arrival in Nepal two weeks ago, this unusual trekking
team elicited unbelieving stares and understandable skepticism from
locals and international trekkers and climbers. However, seeing
first hand their determination and capability, incredulity has been
replaced with admiration, congratulations, and awe. After having
met trek team members one climber, a contestant of an Indian reality
TV show traveling to Everest base camp noted, "I say what disability?
They're doing it, and they're doing it quite nicely. These guys
definitely rock!"
While an occasional individual with a disability has reached Base
Camp, there has never been a cross disability group of this size
on the world's highest mountain. Even more remarkably, five of the
team members use wheelchairs.
According to Dennis Borel, CTD Executive Director and Team Everest
'03 Project Director, the Trek will prove that everyone can truly
have the freedom to explore and live productively if only given
a chance. "We are sending a message to the world that there
really is unlimited potential to work, play and have a full life
if you live with a disability. It is time to shatter the assumptions
and discrimination still held by so many. Yet, even as the team
continues this incredible journey, the Texas Legislature is slashing
services that allow many of them to live successfully in the community,"
says Borel.
For more information about Team Everest '03, the Coalition of Texans
with Disabilities, or Gary Guller, contact Dennis Borel, M-F days
at (512) 478-3366, other times at 512/431-1656 or 512/443-6038.
E-mail: dborel@cotwd.org
Team Everest '03 Contact:
Dennis Borel, Project Director
(512) 478-3366 M-F days
(512) 431-1656 or (512) 443-6038 other times
E-mail: dborel@cotwd.org
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