(11 Oct 2014) LEADIN:
Super-fit climbers are giving physically disabled people the chance to scale mountains.
By strapping their less able hiking companions on to their backs they can see mountain views that they've never seen before.
STORYLINE:
These disabled climbers are being strapped in for a hike of their lives.
Three super fit climbers will take their less able companions on a hike to the highest peak in the Czech Republic - Snezka Mountain.
The story of how these six find themselves doing what is likely the first climb to this peak, in this way, begins a decade ago.
Team leader, Zdenek Pacha switched from biking to mountain climbing when he was told he had knee problems.
Pacha entered mountain running competitions and sherpa races, which tested his ability to carry weights while scaling steep slopes.
In his first sherpa team contest in 2009, he had to carry a barrel of beer to the top the highest peak in the Beskydy mountains near his hometown of Kuncicky u Basky, in the Czech Republic.
Only two years later, in 2011, Pacha again had to recover from another health problem, muscle damage, in time to compete at the first world championship for sherpas in Slovakia.
Having completed the contest, in a state of euphoria, and some pain, he decided to help those who couldn't see these majestic views.
"I experienced what it is like to be handicapped, to be unable to do anything and rely on others. So, the goal is to return to them something that they can't get."
His lucky passenger for the first leg of the trip is Michal Koutny, who normally uses a wheelchair due to osteoporosis growth disorder and some other health problems,
"It's another step for me, another dream come true, after other sports activities and flying. It's another step that proves to be in a wheel chair is not an obstacle."
So it is on those knees, that Pacha and Koutny climb. They, and four others, to the top of the 1602 metre peak.
They first pass these idyllic mountain meadowcze climbers, and as the climb becomes more demanding they ascend through these winding rock trails.
On the final leg up, a windswept trail, with chains on either side to provide balance in high winds.
In all it takes them just two hours - faster than they imagined possible - and to the surprise of these onlookers who congratulate the team on their feat.
"I feel great! �the higher we climbed, the more adrenaline we had, all of a sudden we at a place I have never been before at a hight I would never be able to get to myself. It's a unbelievable feeling," said Koutny at the peak.
"We are satisfied, the disabled are happy, euphoria is everywhere. So, I can say the climb has met its purpose," said Pacha at a lack for words to describe the experience.
The visit to the top of Snezka wouldn't be complete without taking in the view.
But the sights aren't just for the able bodied climbers today, they have to turn their back to the views of the mountains, high plains and Poland just a few kilometres away, so their hiking partners can view them instead.
Pacha and this same team plan to climb even higher peaks later in the summer in Slovakia. That trip to the High Tatras could take them as long as 8 hours to climb up and twice as long to climb down.
And beyond that? They are thinking about Mont Blanc, one of the highest peaks in Europe.
That is if Pacha's knees still continue to hold out, so he can make others' dreams come true.
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