People never cease to amaze me.
Today, Peak Potential ( http://www.peakclimb.org ) hosted our first adaptive climbing seminar for young adults with paraplegia. Using specialized, mechanical rope ascenders, a person can ascend a rope despite having paralyzed legs. This is no easy feat considering that one has to do pull-up after pull-up after pull-up.
Freedom of movement is a major theme in climbing and these participants seemed to really enjoy adding a dimension to their mobility.
What was equally amazing was the number of individuals who were willing to wake up early on a Saturday morning to volunteer their time in order to make this program possible.
I have to add that things in life are rarely free. Considering our ongoing challenges in finding adequate funding for our programs, I am incredibly thankful for the generosity of the New Jersey Rock Gym ( http://www.njrockgym.com/ )and its staff. The rock gym donates the use of their facility, never asking for anything in return. The staff there bend over backwards to help us out, going way beyond their regular duties. In this "grab all you can" world that we live in, it is wonderful to see hands extended to offer a hand up rather than reaching for a hand-out.
It's late and I'm ready to end this wonderful day, which has helped to make tomorrow a little less scary.

Update: For more photos from the seminar, please visit: http://www.pbase.com/jenfu/adaptive_climbing_seminar and... http://www.pbase.com/rappateng/gym