Paraplegic athlete who scaled El Capitan finds new challenge

Martin Griffith

Sunday, March 5, 2000 | 9:41 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - The first paraplegic to scale El Capitan in Yosemite National Park and to ski across the Sierra Nevada is taking up a new challenge.

Mark Wellman finished ninth in an 11-man field in a Skijoring race Saturday at Lake Tahoe. The sport involves cross-country skiers who are pulled by a husky.

Wellman, whose competitors were all able-bodied, was in the lead until he stumbled at the midway point of the three-quarter-mile-long, winding course.

Wellman, 39, of Truckee, Calif., finished in a time of 2 minutes, 8 seconds in his first race after taking up the sport last year.

"Over the first half I might have been the fastest," he said. "But then I hit those side traverse hills and it threw me for a loop.

"It didn't matter. I'm not here to win. I'm here to have a good time and see what we can do. Just because you're in a wheelchair doesn't mean you can't get out there and do the things you want to do."

The race on the Incline Village Golf Course was part of the six-event Purina Dog Chow Incredible Dog Challenge, which will be aired on ESPN at a later date.

While his competitors stood on skis, Wellman sat on a custom chair connected to skis.

He has had only partial movement in his legs since a 1982 climbing accident in the Sierra.

It took him 11 days to scale the 3,000-foot face of El Capitan again last July on the 10th anniversary of his first ascent of the Yosemite landmark.

In 1993, he skied unassisted 50 miles across the Sierra.

"Since my accident it's been my goal to find another way to enjoy the outdoors," Wellman said. "We all have to have a passion in our lives, something to drive us. My passion is outdoor adventure sports."

Skijoring is allowing a lot of paraplegics to enjoy cross-country skiing for the first time, he said.

"Unless you have tremendous upper-body strength, it is really hard to cross-country ski as a paraplegic," he said. "I can cross-country ski without a dog, but a dog makes it much easier."