Editors: To schedule an interview with Erik Weihenmayer please contact Ben Witherell at (303) 903-8824.
Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind person to climb Mount Everest and author of "Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye Can See," will speak to CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business students on Feb. 17 at 3:30 p.m.
Weihenmayer will discuss his experiences and provide advice on leadership and how to achieve one's goals.
The talk, which is part of the school's Profiles in Business and Society class, is free and open to the public. Due to space limitations, seats in the main venue will be reserved for students enrolled in the Profiles class. Members of the general public may view the presentation via a live video feed in room G1B30 in the Duane Physics building on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus.
Weihenmayer lost his vision at age 13 and has since become a celebrated athlete. On May 25, 2001, he became the first blind climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. The expedition proved to be a record-breaker as 19 members of the team stood on the summit, the most from a single team ever to reach the summit on a single day. He was awarded an ESPY Award for his achievement and his climb was designated by Time magazine as one of the "Best of 2001" in sports.
Most recently, Weihenmayer climbed all of the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Fewer than 100 people in the world have achieved this feat.
He has been featured on the covers of Time, Outside and Climbing magazines and has appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and NBC's "Today" and "The Tonight Show."
Weihenmayer has worked with filmmaker Michael Brown on "Farther Than the Eye Can See," a documentary feature about his Everest climb. He also is the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious Free Spirit Award.
He will speak as part of the Leeds School's Profiles in Business and Society course, which is a requirement for all business majors. It features entrepreneurial leaders and Fortune 500 executives who speak to students about issues facing the marketplace and career advice. Created in 1988, Profiles is now one of the most popular classes on campus.
For more information call Kristen Hislop at (303) 492-7800.