that he was our Tenzing, and that all
our hard work was just to put him on
the summit.
When it came time to descend, the
snow had turned to slush in the heat
and we all had a difficult time wading
through what amounted to a metre
of soft serve ice cream. Wally’s head
turned purple as he kept on chatting
to Kirsten and forgetting to breathe.
We hit the car park in the late after-
noon and a four year dream had be-
come a reality.
Not only had we achieved the first
journey from the lowest point to the
highest point of the Australian conti-
nent under human power but, much
more than that: we had proved that
people with disabilities are capable
of world firsts, not just ‘first disabled
TRAVERSE
101
challenges’. We have challenged pop-
ular notions surrounding disability:
we are not victims (as many see us),
nor are we heroes succeeding against
overwhelming odds. We are just work-
ing with what we’ve got, as every-
body does. We have proved that any-
one, with or without a disability, can
achieve their dreams given the right
life chances, and by working together.