Erik Weihenmayer (born September 23, 1968) is an American athlete, adventurer, author, activist and motivational speaker. He was the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001. As a result of this accomplishment he was featured on the cover of Time magazine. He also completed the Seven Summits in September 2002, one of only 150 mountaineers at the time to do so, but the only climber who achieved this while blind. In 2008, he also added the Carstensz Pyramid thus completing the Eight Summits. Weihenmayer has also made noteworthy climbs up the Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite in 1996, and ascended Losar, a vertical ice face in the Himalayas in 2008. In 2005, he co-founded No Barriers, a nonprofit organization that helps people of diverse backgrounds and abilities to attack challenges head on, problem solve, build winning teams, and serve others. In September 2014, Weihenmayer and blinded Navy veteran Lonnie Bedwell kayaked the entire of the Grand Canyon, considered one of the most formidable whitewater locations in the world. Today, while still adventuring, he is a prominent worldwide speaker, focusing on the topic of living a "No Barriers Life." Early life and education Weihenmayer was born September 23, 1968, in Princeton, New Jersey. At 15 months old, he was diagnosed with juvenile retinoschisis, with blindness the expected outcome by age 13. At age 4, Weihenmayer and his family moved to Coral Gables, Florida, and, in 1975, to Hong Kong, where Weihenmayer attended the Hong Kong International School for grades 2–6. As he was going blind, Weihenmayer fought against using canes and learning Braille. He wanted to hang on to his life in the sighted world. Upon returning to America, Weihenmayer and his family settled in Connecticut, where he attended Weston High School. He eventually turned to wrestling and became a prominent force in high school, captaining his team and representing Connecticut in the National Junior Freestyle Wrestling Championship in Iowa. At age 16, he started using a guide dog. He tried rock climbing, and found he was a natural at scrambling up a face using his hands and feet to find holds. Then he attended Boston College and graduated with a double major in English and communications. He did his student-teaching at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Massachusetts, became a middle-school teacher at Phoenix Country Day School, where he met his fellow