In November 2019, 12-year-old Eli Pritchard took his dad, Paul Pritchard, on a father-and-son trip to the Khumbu region of the Nepal Himalaya. Paul was left hemiplegic following an accident on the Totem Pole off the coast of Tasmania in 1998. In this film of their trip, Paul and Eli demonstrate their special father-son bond. Eli turned 13 on top of Gokyo Ri (5357 metres) and was able to celebrate alongside Paul with a summit birthday cake.
Describing his film - the first he has ever made - Eli said:
'My dad and I have always had a great relationship and it was always his intention to take me to the Himalaya for my 13th birthday. However, as he is disabled he thought it was a pipe dream. It was my intention to showcase that disabled dads want to give their kids the best start in life just like other more able dads (though my dad has always taken things to the extreme). I also wanted to make a fun film about a father-son relationship that would not be too sentimental but would show the bond me and Dad have.'
Paul is a highly accomplished climber, mountaineer and author with first ascents on the Torre Central del Paine and the West Face of Mount Asgard before his accident changed the course of his life. He climbed his first new route in 21 years - which was also his first new route with Eli - in 2018. Paul wrote about his head injury in the award-winning book The Totem Pole.
Read a UKC interview with Paul.
Comments
Thank you ! So good in so many ways !
Lovely. Just lovely.
What a great film! Really enjoyed watching this. It's almost 20 years since I went to Nepal, but this brought it all straight back. Well done guys!
Paul is an absolute Legend, bravo.