"One of the crucial barriers to people with physical disabilities is inspiration," explains Malcolm Daly, executive director of Paradox Sports.

"You just think, 'Oh my God, I can't do anything.' You want to withdraw and become a couch potato for the rest of your life."

Back in May of 1999 was Daly's first alpine climbing expedition beyond the Lower 48. He was ready for even more adventure than the winter alpine routes of Colorado had to offer. After all, Daly had already climbed many of the hardest routes in the Rockies, establishing some of his own ice and mixed routes along the way.

To climb in the rugged Alaskan terrain, Daly partnered with Jim Donini, a leading pioneer of difficult routes from Pakistan to Patagonia.

The pair landed on the remote Tokositna Glacier in the Alaska Range, where they immediately scrapped their original plan for a new route on Mount Hunter in order to explore a tantalizing plumb line on an unnamed summit (that would later become Thunder Mountain). Their dream route finished with a 1,000-foot, near-vertical ice runnel up a massive corner system â the kind of climbing alpinists drool over.

Daly was leading the last pitch of the route in the warmth of late afternoon. He remembers feeling relief that their 2,500-feet climb was over because, at this time of day, the ice was turning to slush.

Then something terrible happened: On the last difficult move of the entire route, Daly fell. His last protection was an ice screw in rotten ice that ripped out without even slowing him down. His next piece was a solid screw 80 feet below that. On the way down, Daly hit Donini, puncturing his partner's thigh with 10 sharp crampon points before continuing his horrific 200-foot plummet.

Miraculously, Daly survived. His rope had nearly been chopped in half by the force of the fall â only three strands of the core remained intact. His helmet was full of blood; his right foot was crushed and his left leg had an open tib-fib fracture.

The punctured Donini stabilized his partner and immediately began rappelling down to their tent on the uninhabited glacier. Daly explained, "The moment Jim pulled the ropes after his first rappel, I was truly cut off from the rest of the world."

Daly endured 44 hours alone on a tiny ledge with lifeless feet, no climbing gear and no ropes. He was utterly stranded. While he awaited a rescue that might never come, Daly's survival instinct kept him alive. "I gave up on my feet," Daly said. "There was nothing more I could do to save them, so I decided not to worry and to focus instead on staying warm and dry."

By the time the chopper came, both of his feet were frozen solid, but the rest of him was in remarkably good shape.

Two agonizing years and 17 operations later, Daly had his right foot and his left big toe amputated. (The latter is on display in a jar at Boulder's Neptune Mountaineering)! Climbing has actually become easier for him after the amputations because he's more mobile with prosthetics. Daly realized that there is life beyond having a complete body, and he wanted to spread the word to other disabled athletes.

By directing Paradox Sports, Daly committed to helping people choose what he calls the "good road" of disability, that is, overcoming obstacles; and not the "bad road," giving in to depression. Through athletes, community, events and financing, Paradox Sports aims "to provide inspiration, opportunities and adaptive equipment to the disabled community, empowering their pursuit of a life of excellence through human-powered outdoor sports."

Keep an eye out for upcoming events like this winter's Gimps On Ice, which takes place at the Ouray Ice Park in March.

A post-script to Daly and Donini's climb on Thunder Mountain is that the "unclimbed" route they attempted had actually been climbed the year before by two British alpinists. Whether it was dark humor born from a crystal ball or pure irony, the Brits named it Dream Sacrifice.

Contact Chris Weidner at cweidner8@gmail.com.