Erik: I just returned from a climb of Crestone Needle, an eighteen-hour summit day with a treacherous descent. For hours upon hours, I faced the rock, down-climbing with vast space behind me. My friends took turns, just below me, spotting me and giving me constant directions, saying where to grab and where to place my feet. When I reflect on their patience and dedication, it gives me chills to realize how fortunate I am to have such extraordinary teams in my life. Without these people, the course of my life would have been dramatically different. So I’d like to honor my great teams over the years, those allies who have rallied around the dreams of a blind man.
First, thanks to my Mount Everest team who defied the naysayers to help me make history in 2001, and especially our team leader, Pasquale. You challenged me not to make Everest the “greatest thing I ever do.”
To Uncle Rob, aka “Papa Duck,” I’m deeply grateful. You started me on my Grand Canyon journey and taught me so much about kayaking and friendship. Rob was also instrumental during the entire writing process. His archived photography, excellent memory, and acute attention to detail were indispensable throughout.
Harlan, thanks for keeping your eyes on me and helping me to navigate through the storm. You opened your heart, home, and family to us and brought such depth and passion to the project—it’s been inspiring to get to know you.
Many thanks to my entire No Barriers Grand Canyon team for helping me to prepare and build the confidence to take on the challenge.
Skyler and my Touch the Top team, you make things happen behind the scenes and never get enough credit. I want you to know you rock.
To Dave and the staff at No Barriers, you bring our movement to life and are the alchemy behind the mission.
Thanks to Gail for championing this project, and to Laurie for believing in me twice now.
Love and appreciation to my dad, Ed, for recounting some wonderful family stories. I can still remember the roar of you’re A-4 Skyhawk swooping over our house in Hightstown and rattling the windows. Semper Fi.
A big bear hug to my bro, Eddi, for reminding us about his insane four-wheeling adventures with Mark, the hot peppers, and “Down in Orlando…!” We love you, Mark.
My deepest gratitude goes to my wife, Ellie, who read every page of the manuscript with care, diligence, and love. You sat awake many nights giving critical feedback that guided the book and its themes. You’re the real writer of the family, and I couldn’t have done this without you.
Thank you to Buddy Levy, my coauthor. We met in 2003 at an adventure race in Greenland when he was covering the event as a journalist. For several days, Buddy was embedded with my team, and he made the grueling miles go a little faster with his thought-provoking questions and sense of humor that lifted our exhaustion and made us belly-laugh along the trail.
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Buddy: I watched in amazement as Erik paddled through iceberg-filled fjords, bushwhacked over bouldery terrain, rode a tandem mountain bike at frightening speeds, and summited numerous peaks. I already knew that he’d summited Mount Everest and was impressed by his mountaineering résumé, but tromping through Greenland with him, I came to know his humor, his determination, and his vision for obliterating barriers. I stayed in contact with Erik over the next decade, writing a number of magazine articles about him, going skiing with him, and getting to know his family. In 2013, I went to my first No Barriers Summit, and there experienced first-hand the unique assemblage of people connected by a shared philosophy, which is the No Barrier’s motto: “What’s Within You Is Stronger Than What’s In Your Way.”
I was fortunate to be invited on Erik’s historic “kayaking blind” journey down the Grand Canyon in September 2014. At camp one late afternoon, we began discussing the idea of coauthoring a book about his life since descending from the summit of Mount Everest. Without really knowing exactly how we’d pull it off, we embarked on a very ambitious project together. There were moments near our final deadline when it felt like I’d been in a tiny tent on a mountainside with Erik for an entire year. It was a slog, and we worked long, hard, sometimes hair-pulling hours together. In the end, I have become as impressed by Erik’s intellectual capacities, his vision and his philosophies about life, as I have been by his athletic accomplishments. He is a transformative person, and it’s been an honor to be involved at such an intimate level with his story, his family, and his team. So thanks to Erik for entrusting me to help tell this remarkable story and for taking me along on this incredible journey.
Thanks especially to the Weihenmayer family for always making me feel at home on my visits, and making me feel like a part of the family.
My dear friend John Larkin has been a first reader on all of my books and he gave his honest, attentive, and sage wisdom on every page of the No Barriers book. Muchas gracias, Juan!
Also, cheers to my dear Free Range Writers, who are always with me.
Finally, to my wife, Camie, and my children, Logan and Hunter—your ceaseless support buoys me when I’m flailing in rough waters. You allow me to do what I most love: write stories.