Erik Weihenmayer became the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 25, 2001.  He also completed the Seven Summits in September of 2002.  His story was covered in a June, 2001 Time article titled 'Blind to Failure'.  He is the author of Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye can See, his autobiography.

Erik is an acrobatic skydiver, long distance biker, marathon runner, skier, mountaineer, ice climber, and rock climber.  He counts among his friends Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg, the co-founders of Braille Without Borders.   The three of them climbed in Tibet with several teenagers from the school for the blind.  A documentary film based on the project, Blindsight, was released in 2006.  Another documentary, Fellowship of the Andes, was produced by Dutch filmmaker Bernd Out.  The film shows how Erik inspires a team of blind and visually impaired students on their mountain trek across the Andes in June, 2006.  In addition, Erik is an active speaker on the lecture circuit.  He is represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau.