Climbing, says Remy Bernier, gets him out of his chair.  

Bernier’s chair, unfortunately, is the wheelchair he’s been confined to since he suffered a massive brain hemorrhage in 2006. At the time, he was a happily married active and passionate 27-year-old climber, skier and mountain adventurer working through the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides’ professional guiding certification process. He lived to be outdoors.

The simple bad luck of a congenital vascular malformation, however, has left him with limited mobility on the left side of his body and no feeling or mobility on the right, as well as speech and vision impairments. But it has not diminished his desire to experience the joy, rewards and friendships found through outdoor adventures. He now pursues adaptive sports – skiing, sailing, hiking and climbing – with the same passion.

And this winter, like many keen rock climbers aiming to accomplish a dream route next summer, Bernier is spending hours training in a gym to improve his arm and leg strength in preparation for his own dream climb. Rising before the sun and lifting his body in the repetitive motion of one-armed pull-ups, Bernier has his sights on ascending one of the steepest routes on the fabled cliff face of Mount Yamnuska, the 200-metre route Blue Jeans.

Steep routes are essential for Bernier, since he cannot actually climb using the naturally occurring cracks and steps the broken rock provides. Instead he ascends a rope attached to top anchor of the route, which is securely rigged by his climbing team members. 

“He has some custom-built ascenders that allow him to hang on better, but he does all the work himself,” described Will Gadd, one of Bernier’s rigging and safety team members. “Every foot he climbs is all him. He uses an industrial harness that spreads the load out better, plus a T-grip handle instead of a normal handle on the ascender and up he goes. It’s really inspiring to watch!”

Working with Gadd, a professional adventurer and assistant ACMG guide, is ACMG alpine guide Patrick Delaney. Canmore climber and ACMG assistant guide Nick Rapaich will shoot still and video images. Wade Graham is helping to secure sponsors in hopes of enabling some helicopter filming for a movie Bernier plans to make of his ascent. Bernier’s previous film projects sharing his remarkable story have been submitted to several festivals, even winning Canmore’s popular Night of Lies annual fundraising event. Bernier aims to submit a film of his dream climb to the international disability festival, Picture this... film festival. Any extra money raised will go toward the Canmore-based Rocky Mountain Adaptive Sports Centre, which aims to make outdoor sports possible for “people of all abilities.”

Working on such a project is fun and challenging not just for Bernier, but also for those helping him, as they figure out how best to make the climb as “reasonably safe” and successful as possible.

“Remy has less motion and less ability to move quickly,” Gadd explained. “There are all the usual hazards of climbing outdoors on a cliff face, but things like loose rock other people can dodge, Remy can’t, so we have to work together to make this safe. It’s definitely interesting. I always learn a lot when I get out with people who see the world differently, and Remy certainly has a very different viewpoint on the world.”

Since Bernier was a seasoned athlete who even won bronze at the Canadian Championships as a competitive juvenile-level cross-country skier, the drive and experience of training hard toward such a goal comes naturally to him. 

One of Bernier’s You Tube videos captures his determination and dedication as he works out in a gym and also executes pull-ups first thing in the morning in his bed at the Calgary group home where he lives. 

“He’s an athlete, and even though his body is not working the same way it used to, he’s still an athlete,” Gadd said. “I’ve worked with people who needed help training, but I don’t have to tell Remy how to train.”

Nobody has to explain the challenges to Bernier either, as he focuses on climbing a route much longer than any of the previous adaptive climbs he’s made at Grassi Lakes and the cliffs at the Back of Lake Louise. And despite his disability, Bernier is determined to not simply attempt his adventure, but to summit. While he admits his first choice was not for such a long route, now that he’s fixed on the July 14 date he’s all the more motivated to train harder.  

“This route is the only possibility for a steep multi-pitch [route] in the entire Bow Valley,” Bernier explained via e-mail. “It’s really a plus that it’s a Yam route. My biggest challenge will be to be able to pace myself to avoid getting acid lactic. If I get acid lactic, it’s over. All that training for more than a year for nothing!” 

While Bernier focuses on his training, his teammates applaud not just his physical efforts but his willingness to embrace risk for the rich rewards of adventure in the mountains. 

“For me, climbing Yam by most routes is something I don’t have to think about a great deal,” Gadd said. “I can go and do this any day I want, but for Remy, it’s going to be the highlight of his year. I’m grateful to see it from this perspective. It points out how special it is to be able to go out climbing or do anything in life.

“And this is a big project that’s not without risk,” Gadd added. “Every day is a risk for Remy. I think he’s quite courageous to want to do this, for choosing to live well and fully.”

For Bernier however, the rewards easily outweigh any risk, and give him the drive to maintain his training month after month. 

“It’s easy,” Bernier said. “Climbing is the only way I can escape my wheels.”

To learn more or to help Bernier reach his goals visit www.helpremybernier.com.