BVA members Lonnie Bedwell, Indiana Regional Group, and Shawn Cheshire, Florida Regional Group, are in the final preparatory stages to climb two of the world’s tallest mountains: Mount Everest and its neighbor Mount Lhotse, the world’s fourth tallest mountain. Scaling Everest and Lhotse on the same expedition has never been done by a blind person, let alone two of them at the same time.

In addition, Shawn’s successful attempt at Mount Everest will make her the first ever blind woman to make the historic climb. The two plan to leave in mid-April with guide teams from Sightless Summits and Choosing to See. They will return in late May.

Extreme sports athlete Lonnie, BVA’s Father Carroll Luncheon speaker at the 77th National Convention, was named National Geographic 2015 Adventurer of the Year. He has kayaked some of the most challenging whitewater in the world and is responsible for the first blind descents of Africa’s renowned Zambezi River and West Virginia’s Gauley River. Lonnie is best known for the first blind descent of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon with a team of boaters assembled by Team River Runner. Last year, Lonnie successfully climbed Denali with a team from Sightless Summits.

Shawn has been a member of BVA since last September. She joined the U.S. Army in 1994 and served as a helicopter armament systems mechanic for eight years. Following her years in the service, she became an EMT-Paramedic, and in 2009, during a snowstorm, she slipped while treating a patient in an ambulance and sustained a traumatic brain injury that resulted in total loss of vision. The introduction to para-sports ignited her competitive spirit and helped her confront her blindness. She is the founder of the previously mentioned nonprofit organization Choosing to See.

Stay tuned for regular updates about this historic trek in future editions of BVA Happenings.