The truly remarkable Erik Weihenmayer has done many things, but his premier celebrity-ensuring accomplishment was becoming the first blind person to reach the top of the world's tallest mountain, Mt. Everest.
Weihenmayer, who lost his sight to an eye disease by age 13, was 35 in 2001 when he conquered Everest. He had already been a skydiver, scuba diver, ice and rock climber,wrestler and marathon runner.
By the end of 2002, he had scaled all the so-called Seven Summits (the highest mountains on the seven continents), which include Mt. McKinley, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Denali and Kosciusko.
Weihenmayer has published two books about his exploits and is an active motivational speaker.
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