California man scales Machu Picchu in off-roading wheelchair

An off-roading wheelchair allowed Robert and Nelly Kapen to visit Machu Picchu with several family members. 
Courtesy of Nelly and Robert Kapen

By: Ashley Harrell, SFGATE

Robert and Nelly Kapen enjoy a winter afternoon at Torrance County Beach. 
Photo by Ashley Harrell

On an unseasonably cold December afternoon in Southern California, most Angelenos have retreated to their homes. But at Miramar Park, a narrow strip of green space overlooking Torrance County Beach, Robert Kapen and his wife Nelly are out for an adventure. For Kapen — whom Nelly is pushing in a special, off-roading wheelchair — wintry weather is a relatively minor obstacle. During the first 23 years of his life, Kapen was a healthy, outdoorsy person. Then in 2011, he suffered a brain stem stroke that left him paralyzed.

Doctors told his family that he had a 1% chance of survival, and that if he lived, he’d likely be in a vegetative state.
Kapen beat those odds. His mental faculties were unscathed, and he slowly regained some movement and speech through therapy. Eventually, he was able to communicate, eat, operate a motorized wheelchair and write a book. He had another big dream, too.

“Growing up, I fell in love with hiking, being outdoors and the beauty of nature,” he says. That was taken away from him for 10 years, Kapen says, but very recently, a new set of wheels has allowed for his return. It’s called the AdvenChair.

The orange, “all-terrain” wheelchair is human-powered and designed to help people with mobility challenges to venture into the wild. Its wheels, tires, brakes and handlebars are all premium mountain bike parts, and the large tires and suspension system offer a comfortable ride. Thanks to a versatile system of pulleys, bars and straps, teams of one to five people can assist in navigating the AdvenChair over just about any landscape.

Nelly and Robert Kapen enjoy the outdoors together in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Courtesy of Nelly Kapen

The AdvenChair recently enabled Kapen to visit Machu Picchu. Over in Palm Springs,  Floyd McGregor — who has an autoimmune disease of the muscles called myositis — is raising money for an AdvenChair pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. Isaac Shannon, a Southern Californian with mitochondrial disease, has been using his AdvenChair for regular jaunts around Southern California.

“It’s rejuvenating to be outside, especially as a person with a disability because these resources are not exactly the most accessible,” Shannon says in a video created for the Denver Channel. “So when there is a tool that allows a person to be able to experience life in the most average way possible, I think it’s healing, and it’s nice to be out in nature where you’re not around people.”

Geoff Babb and Floyd McGregor ride in their AdvenChairs on Demo Day in Bend, Ore. 
Courtesy of Geoff Babb

Floyd McGregor goes for a roll in Bend, Ore. 
Photo by Ashley Harrell

Floyd McGregor visits a waterfall in an AdvenChair.
Courtesy of Geoff Babb

An AdvenChair outing at the beach. 
Courtesy of Geoff Babb

The first AdvenChair, 1.0, was a basic wheelchair with off-roading tires and an additional front wheel to help with stability on uneven ground. Babb tested it at several national parks, including Crater Lake, Mount Rainier and the Grand Canyon, where an axle broke. The mishap resulted in AdvenChair 2.0, a full redesign, that Babb constructed with the help of a helicopter mechanic, a CAD designer, and a steering and ergonomic expert.

The new version converts easily from all-terrain to a standard wheelchair mode. The seats, armrests and handgrips are all adjustable, and a wrap-around frame provides stability and numerous places to pull, push, lift and brake the chair. “Large wheels and wide low-pressure tires make for ‘easy rolling and a cushy ride,’” Babb says.

The chair costs $9,950, but Babb offers a rent-to-buy option. To fulfill his dream of visiting Machu Picchu with his Peruvian wife, Kapen took him up on that. He and Nelly traveled to Oregon and stayed with Babb to test out the chair. After that went well, Kapen set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the rental. “I never thought it could be a reality until now,” he wrote. The page exceeded its goal, and in August, the Kapens flew to Peru with the AdvenChair and met up with some of Nelly’s family to visit Machu Picchu.

Although the chair was convenient to fly with, and worked well as a standard wheelchair, the excursion up to Machu Picchu did present some challenges. Because the hike was very steep, several visitors had to assist in pushing and pulling Kapen, and looking at the uneven terrain made him feel dizzy. “I didn’t like the mosquitoes at the top of the mountain,” he says. “But I loved the people, the train and the food.”

Now that travel has again become possible, Kapen says, he would like to visit the Amazon, Banff National Park, Hawaii, Yellowstone and Australia. “I really want to travel with the chair,” he says. “That’s my New Years’ resolution.”

Adaptive Wheelchair Takes Physically Disabled to Nature Trails Around the World

By: Elizabeth Ruiz

BEND, OR — Patrik Nabelek lives with muscular dystrophy, but he loves to get outside.

“There's one thing to look at kind of nature stuff from afar, but it's another to kind of get really get in there," Nabelek said. "And so, I hope a lot of other people will get the same opportunity I have had.”

Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease that leads to muscle weakness over time, which is why he gets around in his power wheelchair.

Patrik Nabelek and his mother Anne Trehu head to the trails in the adaptive wheelchair AdvenChair with inventor Geoff Babb close behind in his own AdvenChair.

“When I was younger, I used to do lots of outdoor stuff, like I used to go skiing and did some hiking and stuff," Nabelek said. "But then, as I got older and the disease got more severe, I couldn’t do that anymore. A real good change for me was when I got a nice power chair that allowed me to get out and go outside, like, go on kind of long walks on paved and stuff.”

The vast majority of nature trails aren’t paved, limiting Nabelek on his outdoor excursions until his mother, Anne Trehu, found out about AdvenChair.

“We’ve taken it to the coast. We’ve taken it on a number of trails around town here," Trehu said. "Narrow, muddy trails that were totally inaccessible for the power chair.”

AdvenChair is an adaptive, human-powered wheelchair designed to help people with physical disabilities get outside. The current design of AdvenChair is version 3.0. The first version was built in 2016. It was inspired and created by Geoff Babb.

“It means a lot for me, to me, to help people be outside,” Babb said.

Geoff Babb has experienced two strokes and now lives with quadriparesis, which means he experiences weakness in all four limbs. We first met him in 2020 when he was at the hospital for a medical emergency. Back then, there was only one AdvenChair. But now, 10 more have been built and sold to people like Nabelek.

“Despite all these setbacks, the pandemic and health and weather, we're really happy with where we are,” Babb said.

Now, there are AdvenChairs from coast to coast with one making it all the way to Machu Picchu. Babb says a couple from Los Angeles reached out to him with the desire to take the chair to the iconic spot.

Team Kapen makes it to Machu Picchu with the all-terrain wheelchair AdvenChair
Photo courtesy of Nelly Kapen

“They were just ecstatic," Babb said.

"Nelly is from Peru, but she’s never been to Macchu Picchu and so for her to be able to take Robert, her husband, who had a stroke, take him to Macchu Picchu in the chair, it was it's a big moment for them.”

Babb says they were able to use AdvenChair for everything—from getting on planes, trains, and buses to the Macchu Picchu trail. That’s one of the benefits of the latest design. It’s convertible to be used indoors and outdoors.

“We got this, in part, to travel to New Zealand, because power chairs and airplanes don’t mix very well, and with this front wheel off, it does serve as a regular wheelchair,” Trehu said.

AdvenChair adaptive wheelchair fits in a rental car in Peru
Photo courtesy of Nelly Kapen

Anne Trehu shows how easily the AdvenChair adaptive wheelchair stows for travel

As a professor in earth, oceanic and atmospheric sciences, Trehu says she hopes AdvenChairs can eventually help students with physical disabilities get out in the field for research. It’s something that could be happening very soon as Babb and his team ramp up for another production of AdvenChairs in 2022.

“Soon after the pandemic, we’ll get the chair out as much as possible and get more exposure and get as many smiles on faces as we can,” Babb said.