An uplifting story made its way down to the Valley all the way from the top of Mount Everest.
There’s nothing easy about the feat of summiting the world’s highest point.
Scott Lehman and Shayna Unger of Maryland said it took them two months with mountaineering help at their side to reach the peak.
The two said the Sherpas with them during the climb didn’t know ASL but Lehman and Unger taught them generic signs over the eight-week trek to the top.
When they stepped on the top of the mountain, Lehman became the first deaf American to do so. Unger was the first deaf woman to complete the feat.
“Sometimes, people think just because we can’t hear that we’re not safe to be on Mount Everest, or we shouldn’t climb any mountain at all,” said Unger
That kind of thinking is part of what helped motivate the two to summit some of the world’s tallest peaks. So far, they’ve reached four of the seven tallest mountains on each continent, with the goal to summit all seven.
The experiences gathered while climbing are brought right into classrooms across the U.S. for other deaf students to take in. The two wear their jackets and hiking boots, all as part of the physical demonstration.
Early grade schoolers at Phoenix Day School of the Deaf learned a few new signs about climbing, continents, and the correct coats to wear on the journey up to 29,000 feet.
In a room full of first- and second-graders, the stories of using the bathroom in the Himalayas may have been most memorable as laughter filled the room.
The little ones may not realize it immediately, but the trails Lehman and Unger are blazing as climbers, pave the way for those who are deaf or disabled to know, there’s no such thing as limitations and nature is for everyone.
“It’s empowering when the industry asks us, what is the best way to be accessible, so we work together to make nature more accessible,” said Unger.