AdvenChair’s Geoff Babb Named One of Conde’ Nast Traveller’s Top 25 People Making the World More Accessible

Taking a break at the river’s edge on the Shevlin Park AdvenTour

It’s not every day that someone from one of the world’s most renowned travel publications puts you on one of their Top 25 lists. So it’s easy to understand why Geoff Babb, founder and co-inventor of AdvenChair, a Bend-based all-terrain wheelchair, was somewhat taken aback when he learned that a writer from Conde’ Nast Traveller spotlighted him last week.

“While we are doing our best to spread the word about AdvenChair, we have never had any contact with Conde’ Nast before,” said Babb. “So I almost thought it was a joke at first.”

Babb soon realized that being one of an elite group featured in an article titled:  Breaking Barriers: 25 people who are making the world more accessible for 2025 was something to take pretty seriously.

As Conde’ Nast writer and internationally known disability influencer Sophie Morgan put it: “Inclusive travel has come a long way in recent years. It’s almost like the travel industry has finally begun to understand more clearly that Disabled travellers are, well, travellers. And who do we have to thank for this progress? The unstoppable, stereotype-shattering champions of accessibility who, like me, are dedicated and determined to turn inaccessibility barriers into a concept as outdated as a fold-out road map.”

Babb earned his place among these most important trailblazers for the world of accessible and inclusive travel by creating a wheelchair that thinks it’s a mountain bike. After surviving a brain stem stroke in 2005, he was committed to continuing his exploration and enjoyment of Central Oregon’s endless trails with his family and friends. Over the course of the past 10 years, the AdvenChair has evolved into a durable, versatile, human-powered vehicle that can handle virtually every type of terrain, while easily converting into a regular wheelchair for indoor excursions and easy transportation.

Since making it available to the public for purchase and rental in 2021, AdvenChair has enabled people of all ages and disabilities to commune with nature, while connecting with those who accompany them. AdvenChairs have taken folks to places like Machu Picchu in Peru, the Camino de Fatima in Portugal, and the floor of the Grand Canyon (and back) via the steep, treacherous Bright Angel Trail, which Babb accomplished with a team of 10 friends (affectionately known as “mules”) in 2022.

“I can only imagine that Ms. Morgan, who is a paraplegic, came across AdvenChair on social media and did some research,” said Babb. “It’s an incredible honor to be included along with two dozen other pioneers and advocates for disabled travel.”

Babb credits partnerships with Wanderlust Tours, Visit Central Oregon and the Oregon Tourism Commission for helping AdvenChair establish connections with international travel entities like Untours Foundation and Conde’ Nast.

“It’s been incredibly helpful for us to receive recognition and support from Sarah Payne at Untours,” said Babb. “I can only imagine what a paragraph in Conde’ Nast Traveller could lead to. I’d love to take Ms. Morgan for an AdvenChair ride and thank her personally.”

advenchair.com

Take A Seat For Adventure

AdvenChair creator Geoff Babb, seated, during a training hike at Smith Rock State Park in central Oregon’s high desert region.

by Andy Nemann for innovations, in February 2025 PN Magazine

All-terrain wheelchairs aren’t anything new, but a former forest firefighter has designed a chair that allows even more adults and children with spinal cord injury and disease (SCI/D) to go off-road while promoting time with family and friends.

The AdvenChair is a patented and convertible hiking wheelchair designed for people with higher levels of SCI/D or limited upper arm mobility, such as from a stroke.

Showcased at last November’s TravelAbility Emerging Markets Summit in San Francisco, the chair is made so the rider is pushed or pulled by one to six people. Inventor Geoff Babb believes that aspect of the AdvenChair allows his creation to do more than allow people with limited mobility to experience places such as mountain trails.

“We think that adventuring is a team sport, and it really takes a team of people to move the chair,” Babb says. “The AdvenChair not only allows people to be out, but it brings peopletogether to do that.”

A Mountain Bike Chair

A beefy-looking chair with a heavy-duty orange frame, the AdvenChair has several unique features that help it stand out from other all-terrain wheelchairs.

One of the biggest is the AdvenChair’s ability to easily be converted from an off-road chair to one better suited to operate and maneuver indoors.

The All-Terrain Mode utilizes a removable 20-inch front wheel with shock absorbers that helps the chair navigate rugged, soft or steep terrain with the stability and durability of a mountain bike. When it’s time to head inside, use a bathroom or even get on a bus, 6-inch caster wheels are lowered into place and the third wheel is removed. Both modes allow a user’s feet to rest on a multi-position footplate with a minimum of 6 inches of clearance.

It’s only natural that the AdvenChair offers the stability and durability of a mountain bike, since it utilizes premium mountain bike parts for the wheels, tires, brakes and handlebars.

The main wheels are 27.5-inch Maxxis High Roller tires with a Cush-Core inner tire suspension system that allows them to be used with low tire pressure. The height-adjustable handlebars at the back of the chair have hand brakes for the 180-millimeter disk brake rotor. The padded seat is adjustable to fit young children up to large adults and features adjustable armrests and hand grips.

Those mountain bike parts also help make the chair easy to disassemble and fold into a compact size that can fit in the back of a small hatchback trunk or stow on an airplane. Babb says using them makes the chair easy to maintain.

“Wheelchair parts are expensive and not as accessible or as available as mountain bike parts,” he says. “This way, you can go to any bike store and get what you need.”

Try & Try Again

As with so many inventive products, this one wasn’t created overnight. It took a few prototypes, several years, and a rough trip to the Grand Canyon to get here. An avid outdoorsman, Babb was working as a Bureau of Land Management fire ecologist in Bend, Ore., in 2005, when a near fatal brain stem stroke left him in a wheelchair and with limited use of one hand.

Babb adapted and found ways to do things outside, such as sit skiing and horseback riding, but he realized he was being limited not so much by his body, but by his rigid wheelchair. With the help of his friend and helicopter mechanic Dale Neubauer, Babb modified his wheelchair with more robust tires and a third wheel to create the first AdvenChair.

Babb and his family used his new creation to explore several parks in Oregon and Washington, which eventually led to a 2016 attempt to visit the bottom of the Grand Canyon via the famed Bright Angel Trail. Unfortunately, a broken axle 2 miles into the descent forced a return to the top of the canyon’s South Rim and the realization that a whole new off-road wheelchair was needed. This one would be designed from the ground up to be less like a wheelchair and more like a mountain bike.

“I was kind of crushed when the first design failed, but we knew we had to start over again and keep going,” Babb says. “Fortunately, I had some some friends who were creative and led me down this path. I certainly had to learn to be open to talk about engineering and prototyping.”

With the help of CAD designer Jack Arnold and Neubauer, along with Babb and his wife, Yvonne’s, direction, AdvenChair 2.0 was born. Everything with the new chair was going well in 2017 when Babb had another stroke.

Despite the personal setback, a determined Babb steadily recovered from his second stroke. Several minor modifications were made to the chair, and the first production run of the current AdvenChair rolled out in June 2021.

Bringing People Together

Available for individual purchase ($11,950), the AdvenChair has seen strong growth through its own rental program, tour groups, schools and nonprofit groups.

Located in the popular outdoor recreation destination of Bend, Ore., the AdvenChair can be rented for a half day, a whole day, a week or three or more weeks with prices ranging from $75 to $850. The chair has also been popular with local companies such as Wanderlust Tours (wanderlusttours.com) and school programs such as the Northwest Regional Outdoor Science School.

Babb says he hopes to have people exploring and enjoying the great outdoors in AdvenChairs throughout the world in the next five years, but he believes he’s created something more than an off-road wheelchair.

“It just means a lot to me to see smiles and hear the laughter of people that are working together to work through a difficult area and problems,” Babb says. “For me, early on, not being able to rock climb, hike or bike again was kind of hard. But being in the AdvenChair, I feel like I’m really part of the adventure again as a team.”

White Salmon native hikes Grand Canyon in wheelchair

By Alana Lackner: Columbia Gorge News

Geoff Babb and his team of “mules” made the 20-mile round trip down the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon, nearly six years after their last attempt. All photos courtesy of Ethan Mentzer for AdvenChair

Growing up in White Salmon, Geoff Babb had always been a huge lover of nature and spending time outside. Between his work as a fire ecologist and his love for outdoor activities like skiing and backpacking, his active lifestyle had always been really important to him.

Then, in November 2005, he had a stroke that changed everything.

It could’ve killed him, and it almost did. It left him in a wheelchair, with only limited use of one of his hands. However, Babb wasn’t ready to give up the outdoors and all of the things he loved, despite the limitations of his chair.

Geoff Babb in hiking wheelchair AdvenChair on the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon

“Being outside was really important to me,” Babb said. “But I found out right away that the standard wheelchair wasn’t going to allow me to be outside the way I would like to be. So I started experimenting and modifying a standard chair.”

Babb and his friend Dave Neubauer, a helicopter mechanic, were able to modify his wheelchair, increasing the size of the tires, adding a detachable front wheel and handbrakes, and a harness that could let a small team guide him up and down steep terrain.

After a bunch of trials in the new all-terrain wheelchair, which they had dubbed the AdvenChair, they were ready to take on Babb’s dream: The Grand Canyon.

Geoff Babb supported by his team of “mules” on the Bright Angel Trail in his hiking wheelchair, the AdvenChair.

In 2016, they tried to take it into the Grand Canyon, but after about two miles, the frame broke. They had to get assistance from the Park Service to get back out.

Despite the disappointment at the time, Babb said that, in the long run, he was grateful the chair had failed then.

“That was actually a very good thing,” he said. “Because it caused them to redesign the chair from the ground up, literally.”

However, in 2017, as they were working on developing AdvenChair 2.0, Babb had another stroke, 12 years to the day after his first one. He found himself having to recover all over again, having to relearn how to eat and use his right hand again.

Geoff Babb and his AdvenChair team with his hiking wheelchair on an exposed trail in the Grand Canyon

Even another stroke couldn’t stop Babb, though. He was still determined to make his new AdvenChair  a reality, and to make it down the Grand Canyon, for real this time. By late 2019, AdvenChair 2.0 was a reality, and then in June 2021, AdvenChair 3.0 followed.

Then, finally, in May 2022, Babb and his team would take on the canyon again. And this time, they would succeed.

They set off down the Bright Angel Trail, the same as last time, but this time they would make it down and back: Over 20 miles, 10 times the distance they achieved in 2016.

The Bright Angel Trail is not a gentle one, either. It goes down 4,800 feet, with water bars, rock obstacles, and stretches of mud and sand. It was a four day trip, with the team taking on five miles of intense terrain a day. But even so, the chair held.

Of course, Babb didn’t do it alone. The AdvenChair takes a team of people, and he had a group of 10 people to help push, pull, and lift him on his way.

“I’m just really grateful for all my friends and family that helped make things happen,” he said.

The all-terrain wheelchair AdvenChair doesn't need trails to be accessible.

Though Babb currently lives in Bend and has for many years, he said White Salmon still influences his love for nature and the outdoors.

“It’s hard to not have a love for the outdoors when you look out the window and see Mount  Hood, as we did in the Gorge,” he said. “And to be able to go play in a creek and then getting older and being able to climb on Mount Hood and Mount Adams … Being able to be immersed and being in a wheelchair really caused me to have to think about how I can continue that relationship to the outdoors. It’s been a big driving force in my life. Not only to get myself out, but to allow others to be outside.”

This desire to help others in wheelchairs who, like him, may miss their connection to the outdoors, is why Babb sells and rents AdvenChairs.

AdvenChair’s Grandest Achievement Yet: Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon National Park

All photos courtesy of Ethan Mentzer for AdvenChair

In 1869, when John Wesley Powell led the first crew of explorers down the Colorado River into what is now known as the Grand Canyon, he had no idea what kind of destructive forces lay ahead. In fact, shortly after beginning the journey, one of their wooden boats overturned in a rock-filled cataract and almost instantly split apart into kindling, destroying a full third of the group’s provisions. It only got worse from there.

Similarly, when Geoff Babb took a team of adventurers down the Bright Angel Trail in 2016, attempting to reach the Colorado River in a modified human-powered wheelchair, he was not prepared for the destructive forces that lay ahead either. In his case, it was the virtually endless assortment of water bars — large logs or rocks that stick up across the trail to divert rain and snow melt. After going up and over several hundred of them within the first two miles, the axle on his chair gave way and Babb’s journey was over.

However, just like Powell a century-and-a-half before, Babb and his team were not to be deterred. And, having learned from the first experience, they vowed to return with equipment much better suited for the challenge. Did they ever?

Less than six years after his breakdown, Babb went back to “the Big Ditch” in late April with a totally new chair — AdvenChair 3.0 — which he and his team helped create. And succeeded.

“Breaking down on our Grand AdvenChair in 2016 is the best thing that could’ve happened to the first chair,” said Babb, whose mobility remains severely limited following two brain stem strokes. “It made us take a step back and look at strengthening every aspect of the chair and the team.”

Babb brought in design engineer Jack Arnold, who became instrumental in developing an all-terrain wheelchair using mountain bike parts for durability, versatility and easy maintenance. He also added multiple contact points to allow the crew to steer, pull, brake and lift.

With shock-absorbing mountain bike tires, adjustable handlebars and hand brakes, an adjustable seat and harness, a team of one to six people can navigate AdvenChair 3.0 over all types of rugged terrain, mud, sand and snow, allowing people with mobility challenges to experience the serenity and grandeur of wild places with family and friends.

The prototype AdvenChair 2.0 debuted in December of 2019 with a dazzling orange powder-coat finish and went through extensive testing and a few modifications in 2020.

“What’s unique about AdvenChair is that it’s as versatile as it is durable,” said Arnold. “The seat can adjust to handle young children as well as large adults. And since it easily converts into a normal-size wheelchair, it can go indoors and be transported on planes, trains and buses, not to mention the trunk of a car.”

Despite the inevitable complications due to the COVID 19 pandemic, Babb began taking orders and received his first shipment of upgraded AdvenChair 3.0 chairs in June of 2021. Already, the chairs have found their way into some pretty incredible places, including the ancient city of Machu Picchu in Peru, an outdoor school near Eugene and the televisions of countless Oregonians on Oregon Field Guide.

In training for the Grand AdvenChair 2 over the past three months, the team made first ascents of Burma Road at Smith Rock State Park and Grey Butte, which requires a climb of more than 2,600 feet.

The Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Trail presented a vertical drop of more than 4,800 feet over ten miles, complicated by more than 3,000 water bars with protruding rebar, as well as countless natural rock obstacles, plus stretches of mud and sand. The return trip brought the same challenges in reverse with temperatures hovering well over 90 degrees.

View fullsize

AdvenChair clears a water bar on its descent into the Grand Canyon. Click to enlarge.

View fullsize

Negotiating the Bright Angel Trail in the hiking wheelchair AdvenChair. Click to enlarge.

“We knew the Bright Angel Trail would be difficult,” said Babb. “There’s simply no way to prepare for the relentless water bars, some of them more than a foot tall and at awkward angles. It really gives you no break for the entire ten miles to Phantom Ranch.”

A group of ten men and women, (affectionately known as “mules”) took shifts pushing, pulling, lifting and braking Babb down and back up the ten-mile Bright Angel Trail over the course of four days. Another 14 volunteers provided support at a campground on the canyon rim.

Geoff Babb supported by his team of “mules” on the Bright Angel Trail in his hiking wheelchair, the AdvenChair.

“I just can’t say enough about this chair and my incredible team of mules,” said Babb. They all performed well beyond my expectations. We couldn’t possibly replicate the difficulty of this trail in our training ventures. But through our selfless teamwork and collective problem-solving skills, we were able to handle everything the trail could dish out. ”

Not only that, the team managed to keep Babb stretched out, well-fed, relatively sunburn free and even cooled his feet in a frog-filled creek.

The all-terrain wheelchair AdvenChair doesn't need trails to be accessible.

“I’m also extremely grateful for the additional support of local companies like Food for the Sole, Picky Bars, Laird Superfood, Smith Rock Coffee Roasters and Hydaway who helped us all stay nourished and hydrated every step of the way,” added Babb.

An avid hiker, mountain biker and backpacker in his younger days, Babb sees AdvenChair as the conduit for a lifelong passion to be active outdoors. He also envisions the chair fulfilling his firm belief that people with limited mobility can still experience the splendor and uplifting serenity of wild places beyond where the pavement ends.

“Exploring the Grand Canyon has been a dream of mine, especially since our initial failure,” said Babb. “I got to experience the splendor of the canyon rocks, the prickly pear cactus hanging from its walls and the princess plume flower that reaches its yellow blooms to the sky. Completing this trip validates that we have created a chair that can take dreamers like me to amazing depths — and heights — with a little help from our friends.”

Geoff Babb gets a little help from his friends to complete his dream of wheelchair hiking the Bright Angel Trail of the Grand Canyon. Video by Ethan Mentzer Creative LLC.

Video: Newest version of Bend-made AdvenChair conquers Grand Canyon trail challenge

NewsChannel 21 has followed the progress of Bend inventor Geoff Babb's AdvenChair, an all-terrain wheelchair, over the years. Recently, on a second journey to Grand Canyon National Park, a new milestone was reached.

Here's the company's news release outlining the successful endeavor:

Bright Angel Trail in Grand Canyon National Park. 

In 1869, when John Wesley Powell led the first crew of explorers down the Colorado River into what is now known as the Grand Canyon, he had no idea what kind of destructive forces lay ahead. In fact, shortly after beginning the journey, one of their wooden boats overturned in a rock-filled cataract and almost instantly split apart into kindling, destroying a full third of the group’s provisions. It only got worse from there.

Similarly, when Geoff Babb took a team of adventurers down the Bright Angel Trail in 2016, attempting to reach the Colorado River in a modified human-powered wheelchair, he was not prepared for the destructive forces that lay ahead either. In his case, it was the virtually endless assortment of water bars – large logs or rocks that stick up across the trail to divert rain and snow melt. After going up and over several hundred of them within the first two miles, the axle on his chair gave way and Babb’s journey was over.

However, just like Powell a century-and-a-half before, Babb and his team were not to be deterred. And, having learned from the first experience, they vowed to return with equipment much better suited for the challenge. Did they ever?

Less than six years after his breakdown, Babb went back to “the Big Ditch” in late April with a totally new chair – AdvenChair 3.0 – which he and his team helped create. And succeeded.

“Breaking down on our Grand AdvenChair in 2016 is the best thing that could’ve happened to the first chair,” said Babb, whose mobility remains severely limited following two brain stem strokes. “It made us take a step back and look at strengthening every aspect of the chair and the team.”

Babb brought in design engineer Jack Arnold, who became instrumental in developing an all-terrain wheelchair using mountain bike parts for durability, versatility and easy maintenance. He also added multiple contact points to allow the crew to steer, pull, brake and lift.  

With shock-absorbing mountain bike tires, adjustable handlebars and hand brakes, an adjustable seat and harness, a team of one to six people can navigate AdvenChair 3.0 over all types of rugged terrain, mud, sand and snow, allowing people with mobility challenges to experience the serenity and grandeur of wild places with family and friends.

The prototype AdvenChair 2.0 debuted in December of 2019 with a dazzling orange powder-coat finish and went through extensive testing and a few modifications in 2020.

“What’s unique about AdvenChair is that it’s as versatile as it is durable,” said Arnold. “The seat can adjust to handle young children as well as large adults. And since it easily converts into a normal-size wheelchair, it can go indoors and be transported on planes, trains and buses, not to mention the trunk of a car.”

Despite the inevitable complications due to the COVID 19 pandemic, Babb began taking orders and received his first shipment of upgraded AdvenChair 3.0 chairs in June of 2021. Already, the chairs have found their way into some pretty incredible places, including the ancient city of Machu Picchu in Peru, an outdoor school near Eugene, and the televisions of countless Oregonians on Oregon Field Guide. 

In training for the Grand AdvenChair 2 over the past three months, the team made first ascents of Burma Road at Smith Rock State Park and Grey Butte, which requires a climb of more than 2,600 feet. 

The Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Trail presented a vertical drop of more than 4,800 feet over 10 miles, complicated by more than 3,000 water bars with protruding rebar, as well as countless natural rock obstacles, plus stretches of mud and sand. The return trip brought the same challenges in reverse with temperatures hovering well over 90 degrees.

 “We knew the Bright Angel Trail would be difficult,” said Babb. “There’s simply no way to prepare for the relentless water bars, some of them more than a foot tall and at awkward angles. It really gives you no break for the entire 10 miles to Phantom Ranch.”

A group of 10 men and women, (affectionately known as “mules”) took shifts pushing, pulling, lifting and braking Babb down and back up the 10-mile Bright Angel Trail over the course of four days. Another 14 volunteers provided support at a campground on the canyon rim.

“I just can’t say enough about this chair and my incredible team of mules,” said Babb. They all performed well beyond my expectations. We couldn’t possibly replicate the difficulty of this trail in our training ventures. But through our selfless teamwork and collective problem-solving skills, we were able to handle everything the trail could dish out. ”

Not only that, the team managed to keep Babb stretched out, well fed, relatively sunburn-free and even cooled his feet in a frog-filled creek. 

“I’m also extremely grateful for the additional support of local companies like Food for the Sole, Picky Bars, Laird Superfood, Smith Rock Coffee Roasters and Hydaway who helped us all stay nourished and hydrated every step of the way,” added Babb. 

An avid hiker, mountain biker and backpacker in his younger days, Babb sees AdvenChair as the conduit for a lifelong passion to be active outdoors. He also envisions the chair fulfilling his firm belief that people with limited mobility can still experience the splendor and uplifting serenity of wild places beyond where the pavement ends.

“Exploring the Grand Canyon has been a dream of mine, especially since our initial failure,” said Babb. “I got to experience the grandeur of the canyon rocks, the prickly pear cactus hanging from its walls and the princess plume flower that reaches its yellow blooms to the sky. Completing this trip validates that we have created a chair that can take dreamers like me to amazing depths – and heights – with a little help from our friends.”