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Article: Ain't no mountain high enough .... (mountaineering for the physically handicapped)
- Article from:
- Paraplegia News
- Article date:
- June 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Paralyzed Veterans of America. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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He is an apparition. I see a man in a wheelchair on the alpine tundra. Here in the middle of Alaska's Chugach Mountains, no one else is around for miles. At this elevation, no trees can survive. Rolling tussocks of moss and lichens give way to glacial moraines and rocky peaks. Beyond these mountains, ice fields and glaciers stretch to the horizon. The stark beauty of this place is overwhelming.
My two friends and I approach the wheeler. Carrying heavy packs, we have hiked for five hours up a mountain, across three peaks, down a ridge, and then up into this alpine bowl. Matanuska Peak, a 6,120-foot monument of cliffs and massive boulders, looms above us. Steep chutes ...