Blind man’s inspiring climb to conquer Australia’s tallest summit

A Melbourne man didn’t let his disability hold him back from following his dreams and conquering the tallest mountain in the country.

A Melbourne man has achieved an impressive feat by climbing the tallest summit in Australia at 60 years old – and he’s completely blind.

Paul Holmes loved mountain hiking from a young age, climbing the highest peaks in Scotland, Wales and England when he was just a teenager.

When a condition called optic atrophy made him completely blind at age 35, he resolved that he would find a way to climb mountains again.

Now, at 60 years old, the Glen Waverley man has successfully climbed Mt Kosciuszko in February this year with the help from his support worker Nicole Kukielka.

Mr Holmes said part of the motivation to climb the 2228m mountain came from his late mother.

“She painted a picture of me on the highest peak in the UK from a photo … (it’s) on the wall of my lounge room … that was the inspiration for doing it.

Mr Holmes at the Mt Kosciuszko summit in February this year.

“I also took inspiration from another blind person, who was totally blind like myself … And I thought, ‘Well, if he can do it, why can't I do it?’”

Mr Holmes trained for almost six months to be able to do the climb, working with Ms Kukielka who had never assisted a blind person before.

“She had never worked with a blind person before, so she didn't know anything about sighted guide and how to interact with a blind person,” he said.

“Our first walk was around a park and then at the end of the walk … I said, ‘How would you like to do Mt Kosciuszko with me?’

“And without a blink of an eyelid or any hesitation she said ‘Yep, okay.’”

Mr Holmes said he felt proud that he did the hike for his mother and his daughter, but also felt proud of himself.

“It was an achievement for me … it was a beautiful day, not a breath of wind,” he said.

“It was a source of accomplishment.

“My disability shouldn’t be a reason why I can't do something that I’m passionate about.”

Mr Holmes worked with NDIS plan management provider Plan Partners to organise the funds to work with his support worker to make the climb.

Paul Holmes with his support worker Nicole Kukielka, who helped him to climb the tallest peak in Australia, Mt Kosciuszko.

“I couldn't have done it on my own obviously … without Plan Partners, I would not have been able to do this,” he said.

“They can manage my money but they let me oversee my money as well, so we work basically as a partnership.”

Plan Partners work with NDIS recipients to help them make the most of their funding, as the latest NDIS report found plan utilisation was at 71 per cent, with almost 30 per cent of funds not being used at all.

Mr Holmes has big dreams with what he’d like to do next, with hopes that he might climb Mt Kilimanjaro one day, the highest freestanding mountain in the world.

But first, he wants to become qualified in first aid and learn how to do CPR.

“My belief is that even though I've got a disability being totally blind, there is no reason why I cannot do a CPR course.”

“My disability should not be the reason why I cannot do it.”