National Geographic Live: Improbable Ascent

For this performance, all patrons five years of age and older will be required to provide either: 1) proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 with photo/student ID or 2) proof of a negative COVID-19 test conducted by a lab or recognized test provider taken within 72 hours of performance time with photo/student ID. Home tests are not accepted. Children under five are exempt from having to present either proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 testing. IDs are not required for children under 16. For more information click here. Additionally, masks are required for all persons age 3 and older regardless of vaccination status. This mask requirement will remain in place beyond February 11, 2022, when the Larimer County Public Health Order expires.

Maureen Beck loves to prove people wrong. Born with one hand, she tried rock climbing for the first time after a camp counselor told her she could skip it. Her love of the sport was instantaneous, but there was no guide for climbing with one hand. Unfazed, she decided to figure it out for herself through trial and error—one of her early adaptive climbing innovations even involved taping a metal ladle to her arm. Before long she was leading a crew of passionate adaptive climbers around the world, forging a path for a new generation.
 
After tackling some of the hardest climbs by a one-handed athlete and securing two world paraclimbing championships, Beck yearned to push still further outside of her comfort zone. So when legendary adaptive climber Jim Ewing asked her to join his attempt to make the first adaptive ascent of one of North America’s classic, most wild towers—the Lotus Flower Tower in Canada’s Cirque of the Unclimbables—she didn’t hesitate. On their month-long expedition they dealt with rough weather, sudden illness, and a food shortage, yet Beck found herself growing addicted again to the thrills and challenges of the sport.
 
With her trademark humor and wit, this 2019 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year will share how a little creativity and a whole lot of grit and determination have propelled her to the top of her field.