A hundred-foot fall at 12,500 feet. A freezing night without shelter. Storms, thin air, and two helicopters fighting for lift. That’s where Mark Wellman's story begins—and somehow not where it ends. We sat down with Mark at the Abilities Expo in Dallas to trace the path from a Sierra accident in 1982 to an ascent of El Capitan seven years later built on 7,000 pull-ups, custom gear, and a mindset that refuses to stall.

Mark walks us through the mechanics of survival and the reality of rehab—seven months in hospital back then versus the compressed timelines many face today. He shares how PNF-based therapy rebuilt confidence, how depression tried to fill the gaps when therapy stopped, and why adaptive sports like wheelchair tennis and swimming became a lifeline. From there, we step into Yosemite: ranger days in the Valley, the culture of big walls, and the nuts-and-cams vocabulary of modern climbing. Mark breaks down aid systems, fall factors, dynamic ropes, and the dreaded zipper effect with the clarity of a coach who’s been on the sharp end and lived to translate it.

The ingenuity is as compelling as the grit. With his late partner Mike Corbett, Mark stitched “rock chaps” from canvas and leather to protect insensate skin during multi-day ascents. He explains chest-mounted ascenders and the way peregrine falcons sound like jets when the canyon turns into an echo chamber. We also get candid about the disability community: the balance between hope and acceptance, the legacy of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and why community programs and expos matter for turning curiosity into action.

If resilience had a blueprint, this conversation sketches it—practical, honest, and grounded in systems you can use. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs fuel for a hard climb, and leave a review with the one challenge you’re ready to face next.