Kareemah Batts

The Adaptive Climbing Group, rock climbers with physical or other issues, visits the Brooklyn Boulders gym in New York to train and overcome limitations.

The Adaptive Climbing Group is the brainchild of Kareemah Batts, of Brooklyn, who once swore that she would never rock-climb. But she came around to the sport after a battle with cancer that cost her a part of a leg.

Kareemah Batts lives in New York City. Guess what? In the Big Apple, the head of access to public parks works from her wheelchair. There is a department of the mayor’s office dedicated to removing barriers for disabled people and it’s run by disabled people.

As a cancer survivor, Kareemah Batts knows a few things about persevering in times of struggle, a life of meaning, and instability in the pursuit of passion. Since her diagnosis in 2009, she has moved to the forefront of the adaptive climbing community.