Comments collected by Tara BRITTON.
Pierre Cabon became paraplegic after the Bataclan attack, his wife is able-bodied. Together, they travel the world to democratize wheelchair adventure travel. This French couple is starring in the film Freewheelingbroadcast this Wednesday, November 13 (4:45 p.m.) as part of the International Film and Adventure Book Festival in La Rochelle, nine years after the attacks of November 13.
Freewheeling traces perhaps Pierre and Myriam Cabon’s craziest challenge: climbing Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa (5,895 m), in an armchair. The film will be broadcast this Wednesday, November 13, at 4:45 p.m., in La Rochelle, as part of the International Adventure Film and Book Festival.
Pierre Cabon, who became paraplegic after the Bataclan attacks nine years ago, as well as Myriam, his wife, bear witness to this adventure. Interview.
Is this climb your best travel memory?
Myriam Cabon : For my part, yes. We experienced a incredible human adventure, despite the difficult ending, since we had to decide to turn around before reaching the summit.
How did you come up with the idea of climbing Kilimanjaro with a wheelchair?
Myriam Cabon : At the start of our world tour, in 2019, we decided to set a challenge per continent. In South America, we visited Machu Picchu with steps in all directions. In Oceania, we crossed New Zealand in tandem. And for Africa, we wanted to climb Kilimanjaro.
How did you prepare?
Myriam Cabon : We went through the Terres d’aventures agency. We had to equip ourselves. We got a sturdy second-hand chair on which we installed double cross wheels. We prepared for five months physically with crossfit sessions. On site, iThere was a team of sixteen guides and porters. There was Pierre’s sister, one of his friends and another friend of ours. And a director who therefore shot this documentary. We were convinced that we were ready and in fact, not at all! So it was a very cool adventure. (smile).
Read also: PORTRAIT. From Bataclan to Kilimanjaro: Pierre and Myriam Cabon, armchair adventurers
What happened?
Pierre Cabon : By phone, the guide told us that there were stairs. We know how to put them together, it’s easy for us, we found the technique. Except that when we arrived in the forest, there were stones everywhere, like a rock slide. The floor looked like this all the way up. The day before, we had trained elsewhere to test the equipment and we broke two wheels. At the bottom of Kilimanjaro, they had changed the wheels by putting motorcycle wheels on them. Which did not correspond at all to our preparation because the chair weighed much heavier. We weren’t ready.
What does climbing Kilimanjaro involve?
Pierre Cabon : Four days of climbing and two days of descent with 1,000 m of elevation gain per day. The first peak is at 5,780 m above sea level and the highest is at 5,895 m. The final ascent is a wall of stones and sand, in the middle of which there is a landslide. The stones were slipping, the carriers were sinking and they were starting to struggle. Throughout the sandy part, they were organized using a pulley system. And then it no longer worked. So we had to stop and turn around, at 5,005 m altitude. It was a big failure for them and for us too. We were at that…
Today, looking back, it remains a success…
Myriam Cabon : It’s dizzying to look back. We started traveling five years ago and when I look at everything we’ve done… We’ve done crazier things than each other. Five years ago, we arrived in Peru and we didn’t know how to manage a bathroom that is not wheelchair accessible. In the meantime, we crossed New Zealand by bike, we climbed Kilimanjaro, we did the Sables marathon… It’s a lot of energy spent but each memory also brings back crazy energy and the desire to test new things.
