Wheelchair-bound Woman Reaches Everest Base Camp

We have recently heard about a wonderful story: a wheelchair-bound woman, Pippa Blake, managed to fulfil her lifelong dream of reaching Everest Base Camp.

After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she gave up entirely on her dream – but with the help of her family, the Rise Above Barriers Society and several Sherpas in Nepal, she achieved it in November 2007.

Speaking recently about her experience, Pippa described her astonishment when her sons proposed that she undertake the journey to Everest Base Camp despite her health. Their solution to her restriction was the TrailRider – a modified wheelchair described as a cross between a rickshaw and a wheelchair – and a team of people to push and pull her through the Himalayas to the base camp. Working with the Rise Above Barriers Society, whose mission is to help people with disabilities rise above the challenges they face, they researched and organised the trek.

It took 12 days for the team to reach Everest Base Camp. Afterwards, the team said that helping Pippa to achieve her lifelong dream meant more to them than the trek itself.

What a beautiful story! Many people dream of trekking to Everest Base Camp and seeing for themselves the world's tallest mountain; it is just wonderful that someone who would be unable to do this alone has, with the help and love of others, not had to leave her dreams by the wayside because of her illness. Congratulations, Pippa! We hope that this inspirational story helps others find a way to achieve their dreams through adversity.