LEKI USA To Participate in No Barriers Summit

BUFFALO, NY – This week, leading pole manufacturer LEKI will be participating in the No Barriers Summit, a four-day event hosted by No Barriers USA and the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park, Colorado. A gathering of modern-day pioneers, the Summit is a place where people living with challenges can experience outdoor adventures, innovative assistive technologies, education and hands-on demonstrations, and the arts. LEKI representatives will be on hand conducting Trekking and Nordic Walking clinics for Summit attendees on the Winter Park trails, basing instruction on the individual needs of each person who attends. The company will also be providing poles for a summit climb with No Barriers Chairman and blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer and Jordan Romero, the youngest person to summit Mt. Everest.

“At LEKI we believe that everyone should have an equal opportunity to succeed in any challenge they may take on. By partnering with Erik and being a part of the No Barriers Summit, we can work with individuals one-on-one and help them conquer their fears and achieve goals they may have never thought they’d reach,” says Melanie McLean of LEKI USA.

LEKI has been providing custom poles to Erik Weihenmayer since his summit of Mt. McKinley in 1993, one of his first serious outdoor adventures since losing his vision at the age of 13. Redefining what it means to be blind, Weihenmayer has transformed the image of blindness and opened up the minds of people around the world. He has never let his blindness interfere with his passion for an exhilarating and fulfilling life. On May 25, 2001, Weihenmayer became the only blind climber in history to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest. On August 20, 2008, when he stood on top of Carstensz Pyramid, the tallest peak in Austral-Asia, Weihenmayer completed his quest to climb the Seven Summits – the highest peak on every continent.

“The one single tool that has enabled me to get outdoors and do the things that I love to do is my LEKI trekking poles,” says Weihenmayer. “LEKI has been making extra long custom poles for me so I can probe on descents and lean forward to feel where my foot is about to step. It’s like having four legs instead of two.”

Erik continues to seek out new adventures and LEKI continues to proudly follow along. Most recently Erik and his friends were part of the new hit reality show Expedition Impossible, where 13 three-person teams find themselves racing across vast deserts, over snow-capped mountains and through raging rivers in Morocco. The show is currently airing on ABC on Thursday nights, and you will see Erik using his LEKI poles in every episode.

To learn more about the No Barriers Summit visit www.NoBarriersUSA.org or call 952-472-2400.