{"id":795191,"date":"2019-04-25T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/blind-adventurer-erik-weihenmayer-tackles-aspens-highland-bowl\/"},"modified":"2019-04-25T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-26T00:00:00","slug":"blind-adventurer-erik-weihenmayer-tackles-aspens-highland-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/blind-adventurer-erik-weihenmayer-tackles-aspens-highland-bowl\/","title":{"rendered":"Blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer tackles Aspen\u2019s Highland Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"
Blind skier and adventurer Erik Weihenmayer at the summit of Highland Bowl with blind skier guide Rob Leavitt on April 9.<\/strong>
Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A visiting skier from Golden hoofed it up Highland Bowl in about 40 minutes on a partly cloudy April afternoon, took a breather at the 12,393-foot summit, clicked into his skis and then carefully picked his way down the steep slope.<\/p>\n

Nothing about the hike or descent was remarkable \u2014 until you factor in that the skier is blind.<\/p>\n

Erik Weihenmayer is world-renowned for his adventures. Tackling the bowl is far from his most audacious feat. He captured international attention in May 2001 when he became the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest. He has an impressive climbing resume including the Seven Summits. He has solo kayaked the Grand Canyon, an accomplishment depicted in the documentary \u201cThe Weight of Water,\u201d screening at 5Point Adventure Film Festival in Carbondale on April 28.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think that because I do things and I\u2019m blind, I\u2019m a daredevil and I\u2019m really not,\u201d Weihenmayer said. \u201cI\u2019m not a daredevil at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many people he is an inspiration, whether they have sight or not. There weren\u2019t a lot of people hiking the bowl when Weihenmayer tackled it on April 9. But when they realized they were passing a blind dude, nearly all of them spoke words of encouragement or praise, took a photo with their smartphones or both.<\/p>\n

Weihenmayer, who lost his vision to retinoschisis as a teenager, is an avid skier at Colorado resorts. He first hiked and skied the bowl about five years ago at the suggestion \u2014 insistence really \u2014 of his friend and guide Rob Leavitt of Basalt. Leavitt has been an instructor for Aspen Skiing Co. for 30 years and guides regularly for Challenge Aspen, which works to get handicapped people on the slopes and into the outdoors. The two men were paired 20-some years ago at Snowmass through a Challenge Aspen program and have skied together ever since.<\/p>\n

Leavitt said he used to be wiped out by their skiing sessions because guiding a blind person can be extremely stressful.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now we work fairly well together so it\u2019s really more of a normal ski day for me rather than a grueling work day with the blind guy,\u201d Leavitt said. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten into a really nice rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Weihenmayer tells it, Leavitt suddenly and surprisingly decided five seasons ago it was time they tackled the bowl. \u201cHe said, \u2018I think you\u2019re ready.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m ready, let\u2019s talk about this more.\u2019 And (Rob) was like, \u2018No, you\u2019re ready.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The hike features a 782-foot vertical rise with nearly constant exposure on steep ski slopes to the hiker\u2019s left and a couple of sheer drop-offs to out-of-bounds terrain to the right. Skiers and snowboarders take off their boards, attach them to packs or slings and trudge their way up the slope. Footholds are typically kicked into the ridge\u2019s snow for all but the trailblazers to utilize.<\/p>\n

Imagine finding those footholds and not straying off course with your eyes closed. It\u2019s a frightening prospect. Then consider reaching the summit in a very respectable 40 minutes while doing so.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was cautious because it\u2019s so narrow there,\u201d Weihenmayer said, referring to nearly all of the ascent terrain. \u201cIt\u2019s good to know the consequences. On the left, I kept tapping my pole to know where the edge is.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I was nervous but a fall would be a bad consequence there, I keep hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A reporter along for the trip was recruited into service as \u201cTinkerbell\u201d \u2014 strapping a bear bell around a hand and constantly shaking it so Weihenmayer knew which direction he was headed. Weihenmayer was second in line. Leavitt was behind, providing guidance such as, \u201cYou really want to avoid the left side right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skyler Williams, the business manager for Touch the Top, Weihenmayer\u2019s business venture, shot video of the journey along with Aspen Times photographer Anna Stonehouse.<\/p>\n

Weihenmayer shaved about five minutes off of his bowl hike time compared with the previous day.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday I was huffing a little bit \u2014 a lot, actually,\u201d he said. Acclimating for a day and night worked wonders.<\/p>\n

Once at the summit, Weihenmayer soaked in the experience almost like a sighted person \u2014 feeling the wind in his hair, feeling the sunlight hit his face, shooting the breeze with others at the summit. After a quick breather, it was time to ski down.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s climbed Everest so I knew hiking up wasn\u2019t going to be a problem, so my job is to get him down,\u201d Leavitt said.<\/p>\n

They have skied enough together that Leavitt doesn\u2019t have to worry so much about Erik spilling and sliding down the wickedly steep slope. They can focus on making his style look \u201cpretty and efficient,\u201d Leavitt said.<\/p>\n

They have developed a unique system. Most visually impaired skiers are guided from behind. That way, the guide can keep an eye on the student and the terrain ahead. Leavitt, however, stays ahead of Weihenmayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy guiding from the front, the skier is skiing toward the voice,\u201d Leavitt explained. \u201cIt just puts them in a more forward, athletic position better for skiing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also more challenging for the guide because they must swivel their head, constantly looking at the terrain in front, the skier behind and approaching skiers. The nice thing about the Bowl, Leavitt said, is there are no trees and relatively few other skiers.<\/p>\n

Leavitt has a microphone with a speaker in a pack around his waist. He constantly provides commands so Weihenmayer knows where he is and knows what to do. Erik links several turns at a time until they take a breather.<\/p>\n

Weihenmayer said he listens to the sound Leavitt\u2019s skis make to get a feel for the terrain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can hear him kind of drop off into space and go, oh, he\u2019s in a steep spot,\u201d Weihenmayer said.<\/p>\n

Speaking of space, skiing the steep slopes of the bowl gives Weihenmayer a celestial sensation.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn groomers, you don\u2019t get that feeling of dropping into space on every turn,\u201d he said. \u201cSo for me, I\u2019d say it\u2019s a pretty unique experience. That\u2019s kind of a hard thing as a blind guy, that when you let go into space, you\u2019re going to come around, ya know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Weihenmayer tackled the steep part of the bowl like the true athlete he is. Leavitt guided him down the ridge to the North Woods then curled into the terrain at the G4 and G5 paths in Highland Bowl. The steepest pitch in that terrain is 40 degrees. The average pitches are 36 to 37 degrees. The snow texture was delightfully chalky on the steep slopes, more slushy down below.<\/p>\n

The mogul fields on the runout to the Deep Temerity chairlift provided more of a challenge because of their unpredictable peaks and troughs. Weihenmayer had a couple of minor spills. The only time he had any physical contact with a guide on the hike or descent was when he was locating his skis at the summit.<\/p>\n

It was an awe-inspiring accomplishment to witness.<\/p>\n

Weihenmayer has an interesting perspective on his quests for adventure.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, life\u2019s about what you choose to pursue,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is what I choose to pursue. I have friends that are blind and they\u2019re head of procurement for Sam\u2019s Club. I look at that and say, \u2018How in the world do you do that? How do you look at a spreadsheet when you\u2019re blind?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just sort of what you commit to and what you spend a lot of your time pursuing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weihenmayer isn\u2019t solely an adrenaline junkie. He is an author, co-producer of films, and a highly sought motivational speaker<\/a>. He also is a husband and a father to two children. His income from his speaking engagements and other business ventures goes to No Barriers, a nonprofit he co-founded in 2005. No Barriers works with people with physical and emotional challenges \u2014 everyone from U.S. military veterans to kids in the foster care system.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes traumatic things can either put a crust around you or kind of remove you in a way from life where you\u2019re looking at your life through a window; you\u2019re experiencing it and it\u2019s once removed,\u201d Weihenmayer said. \u201cFear kind of holds you back, too \u2014 kind of gets you in that window where you\u2019re looking at your life and say, \u2018How do I break through all the stuff and sort of make an attempt to live in some way?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blind skier and adventurer Erik Weihenmayer at the summit of Highland Bowl with blind skier guide Rob Leavitt on April 9.Anna Stonehouse\/The Aspen Times A visiting skier from Golden hoofed it up Highland Bowl in about 40 minutes on a partly cloudy April afternoon, took a breather at the 12,393-foot summit, clicked into his skis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-795191","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 23:09:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795191\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}