Athlete who broke his back in skiing accident scales 19,000ft Mt Kilimanjaro using only the power of his arms

Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro is an impressive feat for anyone. But one man has reached the 19,340ft summit - without the use of his legs.

Chris Waddell, 43, broke his back in a freak skiing accident while at college in Vermont in 1988.

The promising athlete was left paralysed from the waist down but two decades later decided to propel himself up the tallest free standing mountain in the world using his arms.

t was a typically ambitious goal for the adventurer who was back on the slopes using a mono-ski within a year of his devastating accident.

During a hugely successful career as a Paralympian Chris became the most decorated male skier winning 12 medals at four games.

Unwilling to rest on his laurel's, Mr Waddell decided to become the first paraplegic to scale the highest mountain in Africa.

He set off up the rocky slopes on September 24 in 2009 using a specially adapted cycle that was steered by his chest and powered by his arms.

Each crank of the pedals propelled him forward a few centimetres on the four-inch wide wheels.

The adventurer was accompanied by seven teammates and 60 porters, who provided support and lay down boards to bridge gaps.

During the 13,000ft climb through five climate zones, the team came across waterbars at regular intervals, designed to preserve the trail in rainy season.

'While most stepped over the waterbars I dropped into each and climbed back out,' Mr Waddell said.

'Though the deepest was only three feet, my momentum ground to a crawl. '

While they reached camp on the first day in six and a half hours, the trek on the second day took ten and a half hours.

Despite their difficulties, the group completed the 30-mile trek from rainforest to glacier in an impressive six and a half days - just a couple of days longer than most able-bodied hikers.

By the end of his trek Chris estimated it took him 528,000 revolutions to reach the top.

This year, a documentary about his inspiring journey has won awards at film festivals in Geneva and Memphis.

The trek was in aid of Waddell's foundation One Revolution, whose goal is to change people's impressions and expectations of disabled people.

He certainly inspired student Brandon Gell after speaking at Horace Greeley High School in New York.

Mr Gell said: 'I began thinking of the obstacles in my life, and they quickly became insignificant. Chris had a determination and a way of motivating that inspired me to push my own boundaries.'

He decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with his family and raised over $20,000 for the foundation after making the trip last month.

Mr Waddell, from Park City in Utah, said: 'One Revolution stands for how something small can lead to something big - how one turn of the cranks can lead to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro, or how reach one child can change the nature of our perceptions.'

Mr Waddell's Foundation is now designing and producing an All-Terrain Handcycle, much like the vehicle he used during his climb of Kilimanjaro. They hope to manufacture them in Tanzania.


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