Welcome to the world of paraclimbing, where new gear and new recognition of their abilities have disabled climbers taking on some of the world’s toughest rocks.
On a muggy Sunday night in South Brooklyn, a petite redhead with pale green highlights in her hair works her way up a 35-foot wall at the cathedral-like indoor climbing mecca known as Brooklyn Boulders. At first glance, Chloe Crawford looks like just another hipster. But then you notice the wheelchair on the ground beneath her and how she’s pulling herself up using nothing but her arms, as her legs dangle beneath her.