This L.A. group is helping people with disabilities scale mountains and win championships

Kendall Obra, 31, a climber living in Pasadena, has been coping with multiple disabilities for almost two decades. “Instead of adaptive climbers feeling like they’re doing a whole bunch of pull-ups, the mechanical system helps it feel like an assisted pull-up,” Seelenfreund says. “If you race, there’s one way to run, but if you climb, there are a whole bunch of ways to get to the top.” Another major barrier: Climbing outdoors is all about know-how, and there’s a lack of information for adaptive climbers on popular climbing sites like Mountain Project. “We also need to figure out how to bring some of our mechanical systems outside, including the pulley system and the chair harness, which we only use if there’s really reduced mobility,” Seelenfreund says. “There are a few climbers who have no use of their legs because they’re paralyzed, so they can campus climb, but it’s hard to find a route outdoors that’s campusable.” Obra will work with the greater organization to plan trips for the Los Angeles chapter to New Jack City, Yosemite and Joshua Tree in the next year.