【每日快报】INJURED SOLDIER CONQUERS EL CAPITAN... USING JUST HIS ARMS

magicboy

INJURED SOLDIER CONQUERS EL CAPITAN... USING JUST HIS ARMS
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/106825/Injured-soldier-conquers-El-Capitan-using-just-his-arms
Thursday June 11,2009   By Emily Garnham





Major Phil Packer on his gruelling four-day ascent

The veteran Army major and his team reach the summit of El Capitan

Phil conquered his fear of heights for the exhausting climb









HE FINISHED the London Marathon after being told by doctors that he would never walk again.

Now Major Phil Packer - who was badly injured in a rocket attack in Basra last February - has conquered a 1,800 ft sheer rock face in Yosemite National Park, despite being "utterly terrified" of heights.

The veteran soldier reached the summit of El Capitan in California this morning after a gruelling four-day ascent - the equivalent of 4,254 pull ups.


Paralysed from the waist down, he used his arms to haul himself up the vertical drop in a converted paragliding seat.

From the summit of the world-famous big wall, he said: “Climbing El Capitan was by far the hardest challenge for me so far, both mentally and physically.
"I am exhausted but delighted to have reached the top. My arms are sore and I’m looking forward to a hot bath once I get down from the mountain.   

"With all of the challenges I’ve undertaken - but in particular the mountain climb - I hope that what the team and I have done by climbing El Cap will enthuse young people with disabilities to become involved in sports, an area I’m very keen to be a part of."

Major Packer of the Royal Military Police was helped by a team of experts including expedition leader Andy Kirkpatrick, leading alpinist and mountain photographer Ian Parnell and Paul Tattersall, who has already climbed El Capitan five times.

He spent nights hanging from the vertical rock face on a portaledge, snatching a few hours of sleep at a time.

Major Packer, who has raised £1.1million for Help For Heroes which helps injured servicemen and women, today said he was looking forward to a glass of red wine and a portion of his favourite dish - crispy duck pancakes when he returns to the UK on Monday.

Today he thanked his many supporters for their, including Prince Charles, adding: "This will not stop here."

His extraordinary achievements have inspired many other people with disabilities - and In a touching tribute one fan wrote: "I was critically ill and unable to walk. I've worked hard at physio and got my strength back. I didn't regain my confidence for walking until I saw you doing the marathon.

"You have inspired me to walk by myself again. Last week I walked 28 metres between parallel bars without help."
Major Packer has already smashed his £1million target after he attracted widespread media attention for walking the London Marathon in April, having taken his first unaided steps just six weeks earlier.

He painstakingly covered just two miles-a-day on crutches, completing the 26.2 mile race a fortnight after his competitors.

And in February he rowed across the English Channel in 15.5 hours with a broken seat.

On his website he wrote: "When my seat broke two hours in the row, my heart sank. I knew then that I would have to lock my legs and just use my back, shoulders and arms and row from the waist up without any momentum.

"It was very hard going and at times the pain was quite unbearable."

Major Packer's challenges - listed on his website - include disabled dinghy sailing, Red Devils skydive and disabled waterskiing.

Future challenges include disabled kite buggying and a 10-man Canadian canoe task on the River Wye.