1992, 1st edition. 272 pp, photos. The inspiring climber Wellman battled back from a crippling injury to climb El Cap and Half Dome. New Hardcover with dust jacket.
Mark Wellman is a paraplegic rock climber, park ranger, skier, tennis player, and now a writer. Wellman's attitude is what makes his disability so inspiring -- he focuses on ability and the tearing down of false barriers to accomplishments and activities too long denied persons with similar handicaps. Wellman's descriptions of his 24 hours of hell on a mountain side, followed by the struggle to adapt to its physical aftermath, and his refusal to stop living, working, and challenging life is nothing short of inspiring. Ably assisted in the writing by John Flinn (himself a person of first hand experience with the trauma of battlefield injury), Climbing Back is an exciting and engaging addition to any mountaineering library.
There is almost no limit to what we can accomplish except perhaps in our own minds. That is the message delivered to us by Mark Wellman. Crippled by a mountain-climbing accident, and perhaps further injured by his own impatient action, Mark was faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But, finding strength and hope in his family and friends, he has in turn become an inspiration to millions of people. Mark has designed equipment and developed programs to inspire and motivate others. Climbing Back is the story of Mark's struggle to survive a disabling accident, to become a park ranger and an accomplished wheelchair athlete, and ultimately to climb the sheer granite faces of El Capitan and Half Dome. These ascents regularly challenge the world's best rock climbers. With his glorious dreams, his strong will and determination, and his bold approach to life, Mark Wellman challenges all of us to continue to strive toward loftier goals.
