Smith Rock Records the First Wheelchair Ascent to the Burma Road Summit
Geoff Babb reaches the Burma Road Summit in his AdvenChair
image courtesy of Amy Kazmier
“Boldly going where no chair has gone before” is the mantra for AdvenChair, the all-terrain wheelchair designed to allow everyone to visit wild places not necessarily on graded trails. Geoff Babb, the local inventor of the AdvenChair, and his team use Smith Rock State Park as a proving ground for that premise, each time pushing the envelope to make the chair more resilient to hiking trail challenges. This time the goal was the Burma Road summit, with a total elevation gain of 1156 feet. They did the roughly 6-mile round trip in just over 3 hours, over gravelly steep hillsides, around boulders, and at times, very narrow trails. A huge accomplishment, considering Geoff’s first time in a standard wheelchair at Smith Rock in 2006 almost landed him on his head when the tiny wheels caught on a crack in the pavement.
Team AdvenChair posed for the first wheelchair ascent of Burma Road Summit
When a stroke in 2005 left Geoff in a wheelchair and with only limited use of one hand, he found ways to get back to his beloved outdoor activities through adaptive sports such as sit-skiing, but when it came to getting off the beaten path, it was the inflexible chair he had to overcome, not his attitude.
Fast forward to 2022, and the AdvenChair is in its third iteration, helping people with mobility challenges reach amazing spaces, even Machu Picchu, the 15th-century Inca citadel at 7,790 feet in southern Peru.
An off-roading wheelchair allowed Robert and Nelly Kapen to visit Machu Picchu with several family members.
Courtesy of Nelly and Robert Kapen
For Geoff, this latest test at Smith Rock is all about his immediate goal—reaching the bottom of the Grand Canyon on a 4-day trip planned for the end of April. The first time around in 2016, the axle broke 2 miles into the trip. Since then an inner suspension system and more refinements have been made to the “chair that thinks it’s a mountain bike.”
Broken axle on AdvenChair Grand Canyon first trip
image courtesy of AdvenChair
The Burma Summit was a huge milestone in testing various terrain and team logistics necessary for the expedition. The backcountry permit was approved back in December of 2021, and now the logistics begin for taking a team to support this human-powered endeavor in such rugged terrain.
To adhere to his vision of adapting to wild spaces, the AdvenChair is non-motorized. It requires a team of at least two “mules” to assist the rider in navigating switchbacks, steep grades in both directions, and more. Straps and poles help to guide the chair, but it’s the coordination of the team that is critical to the success of the more challenging trail conditions. The many test trips to Smith Rock have involved various team members. An attempt was made several years ago in 2016 to reach the Burma Road Summit, but it was the fairly recent addition of more switchbacks to the trail system that made it finally accessible last weekend!
Team AdvenChair descends the Canyon Trail into Smith Rock State Park
image courtesy of Amy Kazmier
Team AdvenChair heads up the switchbacks to Burma Road
image courtesy of Darren Mcleod
On this particular day, Geoff’s team included the strength of his wife Yvonne, two first-timers, three longtime friends, and someone who has been on two other outings with the team. One of the earliest members of Team AdvenChair is Air Operations fire team member Amy Kazmier. Always smiling, Amy oftentimes is out in front, leading the pack. She’ll be covering logistics for the Grand AdvenChair to the Grand Canyon, to make sure they are cooperating within the backcountry permit system of the NPS at the Grand Canyon, as well as providing for a great experience for all team members of the Grand AdvenChair and other hikers into the canyon, with the help of a team that includes various support roles, such as a food unit leader, the "mules,” and sherpas.
Amy Kazmier sets the pace for Team AdvenChair down the Burma Road
image courtesy of Darren Mcleod
For Amy, these outings do have an ultimate goal, other than to get outside with friends enjoying the beautiful places of central Oregon. For her, it is about “testing our agility, stamina, and strength, in this case, to get to the bottom of the “Big Ditch” with 3000 water bars (raised drainage for trails) with the whole AdvenChair team and back up to the top of the rim in 4 days in one piece, safely with the whole team.”
“The Burma Road is a hike that is a goal of many...to get to the top! It’s not that easy just hiking it with your buddies, human or fur babies, and even for me, working on a fire team in Air Operations! What draws me to these adventures with Geoff, the AdvenChair, and the various team members that show up each time is the cooperation for a cause greater than all of us! It is always amazing to see the smiles on other people’s faces in disbelief or encouragement!”
—Amy Kazmier
A fairly recent addition to the team, Darren Mcleod, Amy noticed was keenly observant on the positioning of straps and people around Geoff as they navigated the technical sections. It turns out that Darren brings field experience of teamwork and overcoming obstacles, in more ways than one. As an Army veteran, he was given routine steroid injections to keep on going with pain. At 54, he has endured 7 surgeries of multiple types, with two of those in the past 2 years due to a decreased supply of blood to his hips. Like Geoff after two brain stem strokes, he has greatly exceeded his doctors’ expectations. After he reached his goal of hiking 4 miles a day, he reached out to lend his support to Team AdvenChair. Now he’s been invited to be on the Grand AdvenChair in April.
“My desire to be part of Team AdvenChair comes from Geoff’s strength. I’d like to be like him—where it’s not about me. It’s about getting rid of the scale, to get beyond the individual, and all about the team. Sharing smiles with everyone at the end of the day.”
—Darren Mcleod
Darren Mcleod recently joined Team AdvenChair
image courtesy of Amy Kazmier
Team AdvenChair descends Burma Road
image courtesy of Amy Kazmier
Team AdvenChair is all smiles at the top of Burma Road
image courtesy of Amy Kazmier
Congratulations Team AdvenChair on reaching this milestone. We wish you all the best on your Grand AdvenChair in April to the “Big Ditch!”