Man Becomes First With Cerebral Palsy To Scale El Capitan
A California man has become the first person with cerebral palsy to climb to the top of Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan.
Stephen Wampler, 42, reached the peak Friday evening after pulling himself up the 3,000 foot granite formation for six days using a specially designed pull-up bar to hoist himself. It took Wampler about 20,000 pull-ups, each one bringing him four to six inches higher, to scale the monolith.
Wampler trained for more than a year before attempting the climb, which he took on as a fund-raising effort for his foundation. The Stephen J. Wampler Foundation sponsors camp experiences for kids with physical disabilities.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Wampler is not the first person with a disability to conquer El Capitan. In 1989, Mark Wellman became the first person with paraplegia to reach the top.
Read more stories like this one. Sign up for Disability Scoop's free email newsletter to get the latest developmental disability news sent straight to your inbox.