How Chris Venter became the first blind hiker to conquer Lion’s Head

Cape Town - Losing his sight has not stopped a local adventurer from reaching new heights.

This week Chris Venter became the first blind person to climb Lion’s Head with the help of a man who knows the mountain probably better than most people. Venter and his guide and fellow adventurer, Kosta Papagiorgio, achieved the feat in an astonishing 10 hours.

“Every step was like putting a piece in a jigsaw puzzle,” said Venter, who lost his sight in 2013.

The climb, which would take a sighted and reasonably fit person between one and three hours to complete, one way, was done with Venter holding onto Papagiorgio’s shoulder and being talked through every step of the way.

The 46-year-old father of an 8-and-a-half-month-old baby boy, caught a virus when he participated in a trek around the globe which saw him visit 20 countries over eight months from Cape Town to Dublin, on a Vespa.

He had been raising money for the Red Cross Children’s Hospital at the time and that earned him the nickname “The Blind Scooter Guy”.

Venter said he had been inspired by James Holman, a British adventurer who was known as the “Blind Traveller”. Holman, an author and social observer best known for his writings on his extensive travels, was completely blind and suffered from debilitating pain and limited mobility, but he undertook a series of solo journeys that were unprecedented both in their extent of geography and method.

In 1832, Holman became the first blind person to circumnavigate the globe. He continued travelling and by October 1846, had visited every inhabited continent.

“My knee is pretty banged up but there’s no blood. I am with Kosta now and haven’t had him arrested yet, so that means it all went well,” said Venter after the 10-hour climb.

Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)

He said, he found that sight used up to 75% of all the senses and when you lose your sight, you have more space to focus on other things.

“I am going to be taking part in the Breede-Berg and in Between Challenge” which will be by bike, boat and foot. “I will do 16 stages and will be joined by 16 different adventurers, including Kosta. We are raising funds for animal sterilisation,” said Venter, who is married to a fellow adventurer and rock climber.

“Doing this with Chris has been life altering,” said Papagiorgio, who has climbed Lion’s Head 421 times. He started his personal challenge to climb it 500 times in 2017 and aims to reach his 500-mark by the end of this year. He had hoped to complete it sooner, but injury forced him to slow down. The 35-year-old is hoping to raise funds for five charities including Rape Crisis and the South African Anxiety and Depression Group.

“This is the first time I have ever done this with a blind person. I have so much respect for Chris. We all should really appreciate what we have,” said Papagiorgio.