Blindsight

Last night I watched Blindsight, a documentary programme I had recorded from Sunday which was shown on BBC4. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Himalayas, this documentary follows the gripping adventure of six blind Tibetan teenagers on a climbing expedition up the 6,970 metres (23,000 ft) Lhakpa Ri, on the north side of Everest.

Believed by many Tibetans to be possessed by demons, the children are shunned by their parents, scorned by their villages and rejected by society. Rescued by Sabriye Tenberken, a blind educator and adventurer who established the first school for the blind in Lhasa, the students invite the famous blind mountain climber Erik Weihenmayer to visit their school after learning about his conquest of Everest. Erik arrives in Lhasa and inspires Sabriye and her students Kyila, Sonam Bhumtso, Tashi, Gyenshen, Dachung and Tenzin to let him lead them higher than they have ever been before.

By the end of the programme I just wanted to reach out and give these kids a hug. Despite all the odds they had survived what life had thrown at them. Given an opportunity they were moving forward in life with huge determination.

The programme was of particular interest to all of us at Classic Journeys as earlier in the year, John Walton (our schools expedition consultant) had taken a group of visually impaired students from New College Worcester to Nepal. This group were accompanied by an equal number of sighted students from King’s School Worcester. The group trekked in the Annapurna region, reaching a high point of 3,193 metres (10,536 ft) on the top of Poon Hill. They then travelled to Chitwan National Park for a jungle safari and for most students the highlight of the trip – being transported by elephant through the jungle and long grass in search of greater one-horned rhinoceros and tiger!. Helping to bathe a mother and baby elephant in the river was the icing on the cake.

This was the second time John had taken a joint group from New College and King’s School on trek. The previous year the group had travelled to Morocco, trekking in the Jebel Sahro region and enjoying a camel trek.

It is incredibly uplifting to see how the challenge of adventure travel and the interaction between different cultures enables individuals to grow and develop. The seeds of inner belief are kindled with the confidence to reach out and achieve perhaps a little more in life than they thought they could before the adventure began.