The Journey
Paul Pritchard became disabled in 1998 during a climbing accident on a sea stack in Tasmania when a TV-sized boulder falling from 25 meters inflicted such terrible head injuries that doctors thought he might never walk or even speak again.
He is still making a remarkable recovery and longed to return to the Himalayan mountain range. The hemiplegia which has robbed his right side of movement and played tricks with his speech and memory meant pedalling a specially built recumbent trike was the only way he could return to the mountains he loves and make the pilgrimage to Mount Everest.
'The Journey' follows Paul and Carol Hurst as they ride over the Himalayas from Lhasa, Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal. This film takes us over passes with rarefied air above 5000 meters and on gruelling dirt roads as the pair ride all the way to Mount Everest Base Camp.
More than an inspirational story of triumph over massive adversity - Carol has arthritic hips and cannot walk further than a hundred metres and Paul cannot use his right side since a boulder fell on his head - the film is a celebration of ability: what can be achieved with determination and patience.
Always looking to the future, Pritchard story gives the message that life doesn't have to stop with the trauma of head injury or disability. He has since moved to Tasmania, the place that did him so much harm, and is raising two children.
Read Paul's blog report of the trip.
Featuring: Paul Pritchard, Carol Hurst
Director/Producer: Paul Pritchard
Duration: 20 minutes
