Man With Cerebral Palsy Climbs El Capitan, Inspires Disabled Children

Sept. 15, 2010 — -- Stephen Wampler could be called the king of pull-ups. He's pulling himself up El Capitan, the famed mountain in Yosemite National Park, five inches at a time.

"I've got about another 650 feet to go," Wampler said by phone. "I am feeling just tired, exhausted and I'm ready to get this thing over with."

"This thing" would be grueling for anyone, but for Wampler it's especially so. He was born with cerebral palsy.

With the help of two friends and a uniquely crafted climbing chair, Wampler is aiming to be the first person with cerebral palsy to reach the top of the El Capitan. It's a towering challenge. The mountain is twice as high as the Empire State building.

Wampler trained for a year, learning how to use a system of ropes to climb.

The climb is a challenge, but adventure is nothing new for Wampler.

Wampler's desire for adventure began when he was a young boy and his parents put him in summer camp at the age of nine.

"Going to camp as a kid opened so many doors for me, and that's when I experienced the real adventure of nature," Wampler said in a video on his website.

Wampler attended the camp for nine summers. He says he has carried the confidence that the camp gave him for the rest of his life.

He went on to college, started a business and fell in love. He and his wife Elizabeth have two children.

"When I met him, at first I thought, I bet he's having a really hard life, I bet he broke my heart. I thought people were probably mean to him, I thought he was sad everyday, I thought he was alone everyday -- and I quickly learned that nothing could be further from the truth," Elizabeth Wampler said in a video on their website.

When Wampler found out that his beloved childhood camp had closed, he took action. Elizabeth and Stephen formed Camp WAMP in 2004. WAMP stands for Wheelchair Adventure Mountain Programs.

Wampler said he set up the camp under one condition: that no kid would ever have to pay to come.