[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H2904-H2907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING ERIK WEIHENMAYER'S ACHIEVEMENT OF BECOMING THE FIRST BLIND
PERSON TO CLIMB MOUNT EVEREST
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 150) expressing the sense of
Congress that Erik Weihenmayer's achievement of becoming the first
blind person to climb Mount Everest demonstrates the abilities and
potential of all blind people and other individuals with disabilities.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 150
Whereas misconceptions and negative stereotypes about
blindness and other disabilities significantly contribute to
the challenges that individuals with blindness or other
disabilities encounter;
Whereas in order to help promote a positive public
perception of blindness, the National Federation of the Blind
sponsored the quest of Erik Weihenmayer to become the first
blind person to climb Mount Everest;
Whereas on May 23, 2001, Erik Weihenmayer, as part of a
climbing team, successfully climbed to the summit of Mount
Everest, which, at a height of 29,035 feet above sea level,
is the highest summit in the world;
Whereas Erik Weihenmayer has climbed to the summit of Ama
Dablam, Mount McKinley, El Capitan, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua,
Vinson Massif, and Polar Circus, which is a 3,000 foot ice
waterfall in Alberta, Canada;
[[Page H2905]]
Whereas despite his blindness, Erik Weihenmayer is a
speaker, writer, acrobatic skydiver and scuba diver, long-
distance cyclist, marathon runner, skier, mountaineer, and
ice and rock climber;
Whereas Erik Weihenmayer's many accomplishments have earned
him the Health and Fitness Association Award, the Glaucoma
Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award, Connecticut's Most
Courageous Athlete Award, ESPN's ARETE Award for courage in
sports, the Distinguished Arizonan Award, the Gene Autry
Award, induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame,
and the honor of carrying the Olympic Torch through Phoenix,
Arizona; and
Whereas Erik Weihenmayer's achievements demonstrate that
blind people and other individuals with disabilities can
accomplish extraordinary goals if they are provided with the
proper training and opportunities: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) Erik Weihenmayer's achievement of becoming the first
blind person to climb Mount Everest demonstrates the
abilities and potential of all blind people and other
individuals with disabilities; and
(2) individuals with blindness or other disabilities can
overcome almost any obstacle if they are provided with the
appropriate resources.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Delaware (Mr. Castle) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle).
General Leave
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on House Concurrent Resolution 150.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Delaware?
There was no objection.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Concurrent
Resolution 150, a resolution in which we are honoring Erik Weihenmayer
for his recent climb to the top of Mount Everest, and underscores the
vast potential of individuals with disabilities.
Mount Everest, towering 29,028 above sea level, is not only the
highest mountain on Earth. The sudden storms, the freezing
temperatures, and the brief window of opportunity afforded by the
weather conditions make Everest a particularly hostile climbing
environment.
Although the mountain has been climbed many times since Sir Edmund
Hillary first ascended the mountain in 1953, Erik is the first blind
man to successfully climb and stand on the summit of Mount Everest.
In addition to Mount Everest, Erik has accumulated quite an
impressive list of achievements. He has climbed Mount McKinley, the
highest point in North America, as well as many other challenging
mountains. In fact, with the successful climb of Mount Everest, Erik
has climbed the highest peaks on five continents.
In the future, he hopes to build on these successes by conquering the
highest mountains on all seven continents, a challenge that easily
rivals Mount Everest.
Besides mountaineering, this former schoolteacher turned motivational
speaker is also a sky diver, skier, a long-distance biker, marathoner,
a wrestler, a SCUBA diver, and an ice and rock climber.
In all, Erik's story is about having the courage to reach for near
impossible goals, and in so doing, he helps us to challenge social
attitudes and misconceptions about individuals with disabilities. As
Erik has said of his recent climb, ``The climb might shatter people's
conceptions about blindness, which are often more limiting than the
disability itself.''
For all these reasons, I am pleased to draw our attention to Erik's
accomplishments. He is an outstanding example of what individuals with
disabilities can accomplish. I congratulate Erik Weihenmayer on his
incredible climb, and urge my colleagues to join me by voting aye on
this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution
150, which commends Erik Weihenmayer for climbing Mount Everest, and
recognizes that visually impaired individuals and others with
disabilities have great potential.
Climbing Mount Everest is a feat in itself, given that only about
1,000 people have been able to do so, and well over 100 have died
trying. Yet the fact that Erik is the only blind person to ever climb
Mount Everest makes the accomplishment all the more remarkable.
I could spend the rest of my time talking about just this one
accomplishment and how he did it. Yet, Erik's mountain climbing
experience is not limited to Everest alone. His list of outdoor
achievements reads like a wish list that many able-bodied mountaineers
would like to have.
He has never let his inability to see obstruct his passion for travel
and for mountaineering. He has hiked the Inca Trail in Peru. He has
trekked in Pakistan and Tajikistan, including a traverse of the Baltoro
Glacier, from which rise ten of the world's 30 highest peaks.
He has crossed the jungles of the Irian Jaya, near Carstan's pyramid,
and the highest peak of Australia. In 1995 he climbed the 20,320 foot
summit of Denali. In August of 1996, he made it to the top of El
Capitan, the first blind person to do that. Erik has also climbed Mount
McKinley, Aconcagua in Argentina, Vinson Massif in Antarctica, and the
Polar Circus, a 3,000 foot ice waterfall in Alberta. Interestingly,
even his wedding took place at 12,700 feet en route to the summit of
Kilimanjaro.
Erik represents the reality that all people, regardless of their
physical disabilities, can achieve amazing accomplishments. To quote
Erik Weihenmayer, ``My message is much greater than go out and climb a
mountain. It is to have passion for whatever you do in life.'' Few
people can match the passion that Erik has shown for life. Through his
feats, he teaches us that individuals can overcome their personal
challenges, large or small, in reaching their goals and succeeding in
life.
Erik has also wisely said, ``Someone told me that blind people need
to realize their limitations. But I think it is much more exciting to
realize my potential.'' This resolution recognizes Erik's potential and
the potential of all of us humans, and it deserves the support of all
of my colleagues today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo).
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to
me.
Mr. Speaker, we offer this concurrent resolution today to honor a
brave and courageous mountain climber from Golden, Colorado.
On Friday, May 25, Erik Weihenmayer reached the summit of Mount
Everest, one of several Americans to top the peak last month. However,
Erik's accomplishments demand much more attention because he became the
first blind person in the world to stand triumphant at 29,035 feet.
When Erik was 13 years old, he lost his eyesight, and began rock
climbing just 3 years later. Erik, a loving husband and father of a 1-
year-old daughter, scaled the mountain by following the directions of
his climbing mates, Erik Alexander of Vail, Colorado, Luis Benitez of
Boulder, and Jeff Evans of Denver, and listening to bells that were
attached to the climbers ahead of him.
Just think of that for a few seconds. I am not sure I could close my
eyes and even with directions follow them from here to the podium and
20 feet in front of me, yet Erik climbed the world's tallest mountain.
Here is how Erik describes one section of the climb: ``It is just
2,000 feet of jumbly ice where you are just weaving in and out of ice
blocks. There are big crevasses, and you are either stepping over or
jumping over them, and sometimes there are tiny little narrow bridges
that you have to tiptoe across, or there are ladders that you are
walking across.''
On May 25, Erik became the hero of not only the blind community but
all Americans. He showed all of us what we can accomplish; that we can
accomplish our goals, regardless of the curve balls life throws us.
Erik has also accomplished the important goal of pulling down
barriers
[[Page H2906]]
that are constructed in the minds of individuals regarding what persons
with disabilities can accomplish in life. His success will cause all of
us to stop and think about his monumental climb and the struggle of
disabled Americans every day.
There are thousands of Mount Everests. Some of them may be as small
as taking a single step. Others may be as monumental as Erik's climb.
Erik has brought all of them to our attention. Erik put it best when he
recently said that his climb ``. . . does not just ask people to change
their opinions about blind people. It sort of forces them to.''
Erik is scheduled to arrive home in Colorado from Nepal today. He has
said he is looking forward to hugging and smooching his daughter and
wife. I would imagine that those were two of the great incentives he
had to reach the top and get home safely.
I believe this Congress should give Erik a fitting welcome home and
pass House Concurrent Resolution 350, thanking him for inspiring all of
us. We welcome Erik home and thank him.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin), who continues to inspire us
with all that he has accomplished, and I might add, the sponsor and
author of this bill.
Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to
me.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday I teamed up with my colleague, the gentleman
from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo), to introduce this resolution to honor
Erik Weihenmayer. Before I explain just how amazing Erik is and what
his achievement epitomizes for people with disabilities, I would first
like to thank the leadership, and the chairman and ranking member of
the Committee on Education and the Workforce. All of them have provided
strong support for this legislation and helped bring it to the floor in
an expeditious fashion, which ensures timely recognition of this great
feat.
I am an ardent fan of Erik Weihenmayer. Little does he know that I
and millions of others with disabilities have followed his trek not
since May 23, when he summited Mount Everest, but many months ago when
I first learned of his expedition.
Since 1926, when George Mallory was the first man to reach the top of
Mount Everest, only about 1,000 people have successfully climbed it,
and more than 150 have died trying. Not only has Erik conquered a
mountain few people with 20/20 vision would ever fathom climbing, but
he has also become an inspiring example of how to live life to its
fullest.
At the young age of 32, Erik has already climbed Mount McKinley, Mt.
Kilimanjaro, and even the Polar Circus, a 3,000 foot ice waterfall.
{time} 1130
Erik is the consummate athlete. He is an acrobatic skydiver, SCUBA
diver, long distance biker, marathon runner, skier, mountaineer, and an
ice and rock climber. He has received countless awards from the Health
and Fitness Association, from the Glaucoma Foundation, ESPN, and many
more. He has even carried the Olympic torch.
But Erik's successes reach far beyond physical challenges. As an
inspirational speaker and writer, Erik has shared the lessons learned
in turning obstacles into opportunities. He has pioneered, not just the
people with disabilities, but for all of us struggling to overcome our
own tribulations.
What Erik shows us is that, despite obstacles and challenges that we
all face in our lives, each of us can make our own dreams come true.
But myself personally, I had dreamed of being a police officer my
entire life, and that dream ended for me at the age of 16 when, as a
police cadet, a police officer's gun accidently discharged in the
police locker room and severed my spinal cord. But with the help and
support of my family, my friends and my entire community, I was able to
persevere and find a new dream. Today I join my colleagues as a Member
of the United States Congress.
Erik's spirit and determination symbolized my philosophy for living
life to its fullest; that is, to dream it, to do it, and to dig a
little deeper.
It is so important for us to experience life and to have dreams, to
know that there is something out there that we want to accomplish; and
then, yes, we put that plan into action and just do it.
Believing in ourselves, knowing that, despite the difficulties and
the obstacles that we can overcome, we all can persevere, and that is
when we need to dig a little deeper.
When the obstacles present themselves and we think we have nothing
else left to give, all of us must know that it is possible and we must
dig deep within ourselves and then to push forward and to persevere.
That is a lesson and a message that we all must share and that Erik has
certainly demonstrated for all of us today.
In his first inaugural address, FDR said happiness lies in the joy of
achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. I cannot think of a
person who embodies this spirit more than Erik Weihenmayer. Today we
will pass a resolution to honor this perfect illustration of the
accomplishments people with disabilities can make if they are provided
with the proper resources, training and opportunity. But most important
of all, this is a powerful example of the triumph of the human spirit.
I thank my colleagues for embracing and encouraging this drive to
achieve in valuing the need for all of us to experience this great joy.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I was inspired by the message of the gentleman from
Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin) in his own circumstances, having been
disabled early in his life. Anybody who is not inspired by Erik's story
has never even climbed a hill much less a Mount Everest or Mount
McKinley or some of the other mountains.
But the stories of both of these gentlemen and what they have
achieved while they are a symbol of what those with disabilities are
able to achieve in this world today, also I think are a symbol of
something else that I have seen certainly in my lifetime; and that is
the improvement of opportunities for those who are disabled in America.
I am not talking about just the curb cuts and the access to buildings
and other facilities and amenities, all of which are of vital
significance, and I am proud to say that the Congress of the United
States and Washington in general has played a major part in that, but
just the awareness of and in our society of what people with
disabilities can achieve.
At the very highest levels of governance, at the very highest level
of corporate governance in athletic pursuits such as we see here,
Special Olympics and other circumstances, we have seen so many
individuals who have lighted the way for everybody else in terms of
what they could do. It is a huge inspiration, not only to others who
might indeed have some disabilities, but I think to all of us with the
recognition that the great abilities that are there generally make up
for and overcome the disability that may have been the root problem to
begin with. I think for that we can all be thankful.
We often talk about all the negativism out there, how things are
worse in the world today. In my judgment, this is one area where things
are much better. Erik is truly a hero and should truly be recognized
and honored as such, and that is what we do in this resolution. For all
these reasons, I believe this resolution is one that is deserving of
the support of each of us here in the Congress of the United States.
Hopefully sometime we will have an opportunity, after he returns and
hugs his wife and child, to be able to meet Erik and to be able to
congratulate him personally for all that he has achieved.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to thank the gentleman from Rhode Island
(Mr. Langevin) for his inspiring remarks about another inspiring
individual. I think there is a lesson for everyone here, especially
those who do not intend to scale the highest peaks in the world, the
highest physical mountains in the world, but scale, surmount other
difficulties that they face.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) if he wishes to say anything
[[Page H2907]]
further. He made an elegant statement already.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure listening to the gentleman
discuss the accomplishments of Mr. Weihenmayer. Although I have not had
the opportunity to meet him in person, I am certainly looking forward
to that. Our office has sent him a letter congratulating him. I hope he
is receiving it even as we speak here today, because I know he is
scheduled to be returning as I mentioned early today.
The fact is that there are a number of people that achieve the
recognition that is set forward in the resolution of this nature. We do
this routinely in the House. But I must admit to you that I think this
particular resolution and this particular individual is something other
than routine, I should say, that the accomplishments go far, farther
than those of many, many of the people that we have identified in the
past year. So it is especially fitting today that we are able to
provide him with this kind of tribute.
We always wonder here what it is that we can do to inspire others.
What we can possibly do on this floor to encourage other people to take
on the tasks taken on by individuals like Mr. Weihenmayer. I am not
sure if it is anything that we can do here, because all of it has to
come from something internally. All of it has to come from something
that builds in an individual over which we probably have very little
control.
But to whatever degree we can add our support for those people who
are out there throughout our land and throughout the world, for that
matter, who have this sort of burning inside of them something, an
ember starting to smoulder, to do something with their lives of major
accomplishment, even if they are disabled, we say Godspeed to you all.
Mr. Weihenmayer is a great example for everyone.
Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join my colleagues today in
extending my congratulations to Erik Weihenmayer on his remarkable
achievement. On May 23, Erik reached the top of Mount Everest, which is
a triumph for any athlete. The fact that Erik is blind makes the
achievement all the more impressive. As the first blind person to ever
reach the summit of Mount Everest, Erik symbolizes the athleticism of
all mountain climbers, as well as the determination and ability of
people with disabilities.
Those with disabilities can accomplish extraordinary goals if they
are provided with the proper resources, training and opportunities.
Erik took advantage of these opportunities and now joins the small rank
of individuals who have conquered Mount Everest.
At the age of 32, Erik has climbed not only the highest mountain in
the world, but also Mount McKinley, El Capitan, Kilimanjaro, Vinson
Massif in Antartica, and Polar Circus in Alberta.
Today's resolution pays tribute to Erik and, in turn, all people with
disabilities. I congratulate Erik on his achievement and his
determination to succeed. His accomplishment proves that we are all
capable of achieving great things when we set our hearts and minds to
accomplishing a goal.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Sununu). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
150.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was
agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________