Disabled climber marks anniversary with return trip to Yosemite

The Associated Press

FRESNO, Calif. -- Paraplegic mountain climber Mark Wellman says his anniversary ascent of one of the world's most famed granite peaks is more about the message than the mountain.

Ten years to the day since he first scaled the daunting face of El Capitan at Yosemite National Park, the disabled athlete plans another arm-pumping trip to the top of the 3,200-foot monolith.

"My message isn't for the disabled to come and climb El Capitan," said Wellman, who plans to start his climb today. "It's to climb whatever mountain that is the barrier in their life. And that can be anything."

In 1989, Wellman, who has had only partial movement in his legs since a 1982 climbing accident, became the first disabled person to conquer El Capitan.

Wellman, 39, was a Yosemite ranger when he made his first ascent. He now lives in the mountain community of Truckee, Calif., where his company, No Limits, sells outdoor equipment for the disabled.

Wearing his company's custom-made chaps and using a special T-bar system, Wellman will hoist himself up six inches at a time by doing pull-ups as partner Mike Corbett climbs ahead and sets the ropes.

Wellman expects it will take a week and about 7,000 to 8,000 pull- ups to summit, resting between each pitch, which can range anywhere from 100 to 140 feet.

On the 1989 trip, Wellman scaled the route called "The Sheer." This time around, a stronger, bulkier Wellman will be taking a different path, a difficult route known as "The Nose."

It is also one of the most challenging of the 75 or 80 routes that reach the summit.

Named for its appearance and made famous by photographer Ansel Adams, "The Nose" is the highest unbroken granite cliff in North America, with the toughest-to-tackle angles on its lower third.

Wellman and Corbett, 45, will be lugging 200 pounds of gear. They plan to survive on 100 pounds of water and a diet of cold food; Power Bars, canned beans, dried fruit, trail mix and bagels.

They will sleep on natural ledges when they can, and on a double- wide, portable ledge when they can't. They also will be lugging along a cell phone and a digital camera that will help them update reports on the Internet.

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