Registered blind mountaineer Steve Bate climbs El Capitan
- 5 years ago
Many thanks to Andy Kirkpatrick who accompanied Steve Bate on this climb and shot this inspirational video - http://andy-kirkpatrick.com/blog/view/commitment. The day after this video was taken Steve climbed El Capitan solo, the first registered blind person to do so.
A climber has told of his trip to California to become the first ever registered blind person to solo climb one of El Capitan's most dangerous routes, Zodiac. Steve, 35, of Elgin, Moray, was 2 years ago diagnosed with a degenerative illness called retinitis pigmentosa. "My eyesight hasn't been completely right for up to 10 years but I was only diagnosed two years ago," said Steve. "Now I have completely lost my peripheral vision, so it's like looking down a tunnel." The illness is causing irreparable damage to Steve's eyes and the climber has been warned that he will be blind within five years.
A climber has told of his trip to California to become the first ever registered blind person to solo climb one of El Capitan's most dangerous routes, Zodiac. Steve, 35, of Elgin, Moray, was 2 years ago diagnosed with a degenerative illness called retinitis pigmentosa. "My eyesight hasn't been completely right for up to 10 years but I was only diagnosed two years ago," said Steve. "Now I have completely lost my peripheral vision, so it's like looking down a tunnel." The illness is causing irreparable damage to Steve's eyes and the climber has been warned that he will be blind within five years.