Climbers Reach Summit of El Cap Paraplegic and his partner repeat history-making Yosemite climb. By Pablo Lopez The Fresno Bee - July 30, 1999 Ten years after his history-making climb of Yosemite's El Capitan, paraplegic climber Mark Wellman made it to the top again Thursday evening, the climbers' spokeswoman said. It took him and partner Mike Corbett 11 days to climb the 3,200-foot monolith, Robie Wilson said. In 1989, Wellman, 39, was the first paraplegic to scale El Capitan. At the top, he and Corbett, 45, were greeted with champagne and a media frenzy that reverberated around the world. This time, the pair made it to the summit about 8 p.m. Thursday evening with less fanfare, she said. The climbers started their ascent at about 1:45 p.m. July 19 with 250 pounds of supplies, including 100 pounds of water. Using a special T-bar system, Wellman hoisted himself up 6 inches at a time by doing pull-ups while Corbett climbed ahead and set the ropes. Their goal was to reach the top in seven days, which would have put them on the summit July 26 - 10 years to the day after their 1989 feat. But strong winds and difficult horizontal traverses caused unforeseen delays. Wellman, a motivational speaker, author and outdoor-equipment designer from Truckee, was left a paraplegic in a 1982 Sierra climbing accident. He said he climbs El Cap to send a can-do message about people with physical disabilities. In May this year, Corbett led 81-year-old Gerry Bloch of New Jersey on an 11-day trip that made Bloch the oldest man to complete the ascent. They reached the top May 23, scaling the cliff first climbed in 1958 by Sacramento survey engineer Warren Harding. Corbett, who has lived nearly 25 years in Yosemite Valley, said he and Wellman agreed 22 months ago to test the tougher "Nose" route, after taking the smoother straight-up "Shield" route in 1989, which took eight days to climb. It was his 54th trip up the sheer cliff face. Named for its appearance and made famous by photographer Ansel Adams, "The Nose" is the highest unbroken granite cliff in North America.