Blind Coloradan Erik Weihenmayer Rappels Into Active Volcano With Actor Will Smith

(CBS4) -- Erik Weihenmayer, a Coloradan known for being the first blind person to summit Mount Everest, is talking about a thrilling new adventure -- with a superstar partner. Weihenmayer says he and Will Smith rappelled into an active volcano.

Always a pleasure to be part of alumni news. I recently sat down with Alix Hackett at Boston College News to talk...

Posted by Erik Weihenmayer on Friday, February 11, 2022

The incredible outing was part of National Geographic's 'Welcome to Earth' series. Weihenmayer says it is about "education, opportunity, and breaking down barriers."

"...as I learned from working with Will on the show, I was eager to push my comfort zone," he wrote.

Weihenmayer lost his eyesight at the age of 13 to a degenerative disease. He moved to Colorado in the late 1990s.

Blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer using saftey rope for support and guidance as he skillfully climbs massive sheer rock. (Photo by John Storey/Getty Images)

Since climbing Mount Everest in 2001, he has continued his adventures and has made numerous high profile public speaking events.

Erik Weihenmayer who is a first blind man to climb mount everest, pictured in Tai Tam. 26 April 2006 (Photo by Oliver Tsang/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)

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In the summer of 2011 he competed in the reality TV show "Expedition Impossible" with his climbing guide Jeff Evans.

He is the author of "Touch the Top of the World: A Blind Man's Journey to Climb Farther Than the Eye can See."

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