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Gov.
Perry Announces Texans with Disabilities to Climb
Mt. Everest; Team Everest '03 Receives Permit for
Historic Journey |
OFFICE OF THE
GOVERNOR
Rick Perry
AUSTIN - Gov. Rick
Perry joined with the Coalition of Texans with
Disabilities today to announce that a delegation of 18
Texans with disabilities has received a permit to
climb Mount Everest. The group known as Team Everest
will make the journey in the spring of 2003.
"We are here today to
recognize and celebrate the limitless potential of the
human spirit," said Perry. "I applaud the members of
Team Everest for dreaming big and pioneering new
trails."
The summit permit,
issued by the government of Nepal, is one of only 20
expedition permits expected to be distributed for
2003. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the
first successful climb to the summit's peak.
The team, which is
made up of Texans with a variety of disabilities,
seeks to draw parallels between the historic climb and
the progress people with disabilities have made during
the past 50 years. Most team members will make the
30-mile trek to the 17,500-foot base camp, with
several others continuing their climb to the
29,035-foot peak.
The governor was
joined at the announcement by Paul Carrozza, co-chair
of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, and
Gary Guller, who will lead the expedition. After a
1986 climbing accident which resulted in the
amputation of his left arm, Guller continues to lead
climbs around the world. By reaching the summit with
Team Everest, Guller would be the first person with
one arm to complete the climb to the world's highest
peak.
"You remind us that
society should never place limits on the ability of
the human mind or the potential of the human spirit,"
Perry told the climbers.
The Coalition of
Texans with Disabilities is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities
enjoy equal opportunities to live, learn, work, play
and participate fully in the community of their
choice.
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