You can call him the most decorated male skier in Paralympic history — which he is — but if you label Chris Waddell an activist, the 40-something Utah resident gets a bit uneasy. As the winner of 12 medals over four games, his actions have always spoken louder than words.
These days, the actions are still bold, but the words reflect a new mission.
"I am trying to gain equality for people with disabilities," says Waddell, who recently climbed 19,340-foot Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. "The activist role makes me a little bit nervous, because it feels like I am complaining."
For now, Waddell is willing to risk the perception in his efforts to shine a light on the supposed limitations of the disabled. "We are limited by our imagination, and the idea of a paraplegic climbing a mountain is really kind of ridiculous," muses Waddell. "How many other ridiculous ideas are out there? How many other obstacles are there that, through little tweaks, we can find ways to surmount?"
Getting up the rocky terrain of Kilimanjaro one revolution at a time (see a photolog of the climb at www.one-revolution.com) required amazing strength, patience and a willingness to accept help from a push or a pull on rare occasions. Mostly it involved turning the cranks of a one-of-a-kind, four-wheel handcycle called a Bomba from One-Off Titanium, Cummington, Mass.
The unique vehicle steers two ways, via traditional hand bars and through a special pedal that sits under the chest. The wheels are capable of maneuvering over foot-tall obstacles.
For a man used to nailing slalom ski runs at breakneck speeds, Kilimanjaro required a completely different mindset. If Waddell could change his notions of acceptable speed, he believes others can change how they view people in wheelchairs and other predicaments.
"My mission … is really more about changing attitudes," explains Waddell. "We have the Americans with Disabilities Act and a variety of different things, but it is ultimately more about hearts and minds among individuals. I want to invite people into what we are doing. I don't want to tell them to change, but ask them to change."
Like most advances in technology, the vehicle used on Kilimanjaro was born of necessity. Using 28 gears, Waddell sat in a position similar to that in a canoe. The unique handcycle is not something for getting around a house, but for escaping the pavement and getting on the dirt it makes an undeniable difference.
"It changes some of the scope and thinking about how we can approach the problems that are out there," says Waddell, who sustained a T10-11 injury during a skiing accident while in college. "We might be able to tweak some of the existing technology, or invent new technology that would make peoples' lives more fulfilling — which is ultimately the goal."
Waddell is planning a 10-month, 30-city tour that will combine an educational program with showings of a documentary about the Kilimanjaro climb. He hopes to reach 450 schools and 150,000 students. For information about dates and locations, or if you would like Chris to visit your community, contact Stephanie Schacht at stephanieschacht@gmail.com.
