Walt Hampton, J.D.

Creating the Work & Life You LOVE

Patrick Power
March 11, 2010

It was minus 5.  The wind gusted to 50 m.p.h.  But the smile never faded.

Patrick stood on top.

On Friday, March 5, 2010 at 11:35 a.m., after months of preparation and training, Patrick Kral summited Mt. Washington.  As far as we know, he is the first ever Special Olympian to make a winter ascent of the peak.

I must admit to having had a fair amount of skepticism when I first heard of Patrick’s desire to do a winter climb of Mt. Washington.   By any standard, it is a difficult and dangerous objective. Mt. Washington has the reputation of having the most ferocious weather on earth. The yellow warning sign at the trailhead says it all: “many have died” attempting the climb.

So when the executive director of the Farmington Valley ARC, the organization that works with Patrick, approached me to discuss Patrick’s goal, I doubted the wisdom of any of it.

Until I met Patrick.

I found myself instantly engaged by his passion. His passion to climb. But more than that, his passion to experience life.

At 29, he retains the fresh enthusiasm of a teenager.  And although somewhat stocky, he is marathon runner with some truly impressive times.  But it is his spirit that is most remarkable.

When I first discussed the project with Patrick, I explained what would be required to train for the trip: the running, the stair stepper, the technical skills he had to master.  He never flinched. With his signature grin, he simply wanted to know when we would start.

So we began the months of planning and preparation.  But in the end, it was the guide who was guided.  I learned far more than I taught.

Here are the lessons I learned from Patrick:

Live without fear.  I’ve introduced plenty of folks to climbing over the years.  Fear and climbing are pretty steady companions.  There are  those precipices and that nasty thing called gravity. There are the pointy tools and sharp objects and falling rock and ice.  There is the snow and numbing cold.  There are lots of things to be afraid of. And by in large,  a healthy fear is, well, a healthy thing to have.  But unmitigated fear gets in the way – of learning – and of living.  It is not possible to experience and enjoy the fullness that life offers if you constantly live in fear.

I don’t know whether Patrick is really fearless.  But he certainly seems to live that way. Everything we did together he entered into with excitement and bold anticipation. And the sheer joy that is experience untainted by fear is a thing marvelous to behold.

Persist. Learning any new skill – especially as an adult – is tough.  We don’t want to look stupid.  We do. We think we should learn things faster.  We don’t.  We think we shouldn’t fail.  We do.  We turn back.  We give up.  We fail to persist.  And in doing so, we miss out.

Patrick never quit.  I don’t think he ever though of quitting.  If he did, he didn’t say so.  He never complained.  He never whined. Up steep slopes where his balance was precarious, over icy rocks with crampons, through unconsolidated snow, Patrick kept on going.  In the marathon of life, Patrick will win.

Believe that anything is possible. When working on any big project, it is easy to get discouraged. The logistics and the  immensity of putting the myriad pieces together to achieve a goal can easily overwhelm. When you don’t believe, your dreams die. The self-fulfilling prophecy of doubt dooms you.

I don’t think Patrick ever doubted that he would accomplish his dream of summiting Mt. Washington.

Want more. Life is not static.  It holds such promise. Such fullness. There is so much that waits for us if we but seek it out.  The next goal, the next adventure, the next experience of joy.  We can chose to make our lives extraordinary.  And yet, it is easy – especially as time goes by – to limit ourselves in what we hope to experience and attain, resorting again and again to the old refrains of job constraints, lack of time, money, age and fitness.

At our celebration dinner after summiting, I was still basking in the glow of success on a nearly perfect winter day in the White Mountains.  As the beer dulled the soreness in my quads, Patrick looked at me across the table and grinned.  “Do you want to sky dive?” he asked.

Without a doubt, a lot of what enables Patrick to succeed is the community that supports him. Steve Morris, the ARC’s executive director, is a true visionary.  He believes in his heart that, given the opportunity, anyone can accomplish anything, regardless of disability.  But all of us have the choice to surround ourselves with visionaries, people  who support our dreams and goals; and we have the option to avoid the naysayers.

Patrick Power.  Would that we all could have it.

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