better - Pressalit A/S

Cho Oyu Unarmed Expedition 2005
Making
each other
better
af Thomas Mandrup
In 1973, a high-voltage accident cost him both
arms. Before his encounter with 17,000 Volts he
was an active young man who played the piano.
His accident not only changed his life but led to
a lifelong realisation. Since then, he has become
one of Norway’s most successful disabled athletes,
winning 14 Paralympic medals between
1980 and 1994. He has held top managerial positions
in several Norwegian companies. His name
is Cato Zahl Pedersen, and he is Pressalit Care’s
new, Norwegian “ambassador”.
I am meeting him in Oslo for a chat about functional
ability and performance, about possibilities and
limitations – and about the “Keep Living” philosophy.
His zipper is stuck so I help him off with
his jacket. Only having a hook instead of two
arms poses certain practical challenges, and
Cato Zahl is dependent on
others in a good many
situations. At first glance
he looks like a man who
is severely functionally
impaired, but I have not
been there for very
long before I
begin to understand that his fantastic mentality and
positive approach to life stand in marked contrast to his
missing arms. For inside Cato Zahl’s head, the notion of
limitations barely exists.
In 1994, 21 years after his accident, together with two
other members, he completed an expedition to the
South Pole. They walked the 2,000 kilometres on skis,
each dragging a 120kg load behind them on a pulk. In
the two months the expedition lasted he lost 20 kg, but
thanks to the strong willing arms of others, he achieved
his goal – to end the myth that it was physically impossible
for him to walk to the South Pole. Now, the next
project awaits him – the ascent of Cho Oyu, the world’s
sixth highest mountain in the Himalayas, at 8,201 metres
above sea level.
Success as a collaborative team
He got the idea back in 2004 when he was trekking with
some friends at lower altitude in the Himalayas.
The choice fell on Cho Oyu because Cato Zahl
was thought to have an excellent chance of
climbing the mountain despite his handicap.
The last year has been spent gathering
together the seven-man expedition which
today – on 7 September – is about to set
off on their trip. The next five weeks will
be spent climbing.
I ask him about his success criteria for
the expedition:
”Even though we haven’t left yet,
I can safely say that the project
has been a success from the
very outset. I’ve been able
to put together a team of
fully dedicated, talented
people and we have had
optimal preparation conditions.
Having

said this, I also have certain “value goals” of my own
for the trip: primary among them being to maintain
friendship within the group. To remain open and playful
despite the challenges that lie ahead. And that we are
sufficiently aware of what we are doing to know why
our summit attempt succeeds – or fails.
Obviously, I’m very dependent on other people’s help
– both at home and on the expedition. I don’t make any
bones about that, which is why it’s all about learning to
work well as a team. It requires that each of us does
our utmost to perform at our very best, but it’s also
about making each other perform better. That’s why the
project has been given the working title ’making each
other better’. Once we’re above 6,500 metres, we’re really
all functionally impaired. The oxygen content is only
roughly a quarter of what it is at sea level. It’s difficult
to explain what this means to people who have
never experienced it, but even a simple
task like pulling on your boots
requires a Herculean
effort. You’re constantly gasping for air. Regardless of
how well prepared each of us is, no one can predict
how their body will react at high altitude. We’re going
to experience ups and downs, which is why we can only
complete the expedition if we function as a team, with
everyone taking turns to help each other.”
The expedition numbers several of Cato Zahl’s personal
friends and he is excited in more ways than one about
testing these friendships “at high altitude”. Remaining
friends is not to something he takes for granted when
being pushed under such extreme conditions, but he
rates friendship higher than reaching the summit of Cho
Oyu: ”If we reach the summit but part on bad terms,
then the expedition will have been a failure for me,” he
stresses. ”Whereas I can view the expedition as successful
even if we don’t reach the top as long as I know
that we all did our best and that
we basically managed to keep
the team together.”
Getting used to
high altitude
is

achieved by means of a ”yo-yo procedure”, whereby expedition
members climb a short distance up the mountain,
gradually acclimatise to the lower oxygen content
– and then climb back down a little. The next day the
person climbs a little higher before repeating the whole
procedure. And so it continues – until – they hopefully
reach the summit. In their battle against the lack of
oxygen, a strong mental attitude plays a vital role, and
with his wealth of experience from elite sport, Cato Zahl
truly has something valuable to offer the other expedition
members.
To be a “storyteller” – a teller of stories – from the
summit is another personal goal. Reaching the summit
will in itself be a story about our inability to judge a
book by its cover, or functional ability and performance
simply by looking at a person, and that other people
who are slightly different from the norm possess a
greater potential than we often expect. This is a message
that Cato Zahl would very much like to hammer
home to the welfare society, the labour market and to
individuals in general. Personally, he views Cho Oyu as
a learning opportunity - for the expedition will reveal
the boundary of his own limitations.
Functional ability and limitations
Do you never stop to think about the risks involved in
such an expedition?
”People have told me that the expedition is a foolhardy
undertaking. That it’s too dangerous for me. They said
the same thing about our expedition to the South Pole.
But in reality, there is no danger in what we’re doing.
Crossing a busy road at the wrong place – can prove
deadly, but our expedition is not inherently dangerous
because we are constantly aware of safety issues. We
spend the necessary time to ensure extra safety for
me. Outside factors such as the weather, sickness and
accidents can pose a threat but we can greatly reduce
the risk through proper planning. The expedition team
comprises top professional, well-prepared members
and in Nepal we have allied ourselves with one of the
world’s top sherpas, Dawa Chiri Sherpa, who will act as
a guide and help assemble a local team to aid in carrying
the equipment. So we have done what we can to
give ourselves optimal climbing conditions.”
How can you approach such a difficult task without
focusing on limitations?
”Your question goes to the very heart of the whole issue
of functional ability and performance. Many people
have a tendency to become bogged down by limitations
and to view them as an insurmountable problem, which
triggers a general feeling of despair in relation to task
solving. We’re quick to call something difficult. I have
had to realise that the more accurately I can describe
a limitation, the easier it is to overcome it. It’s about
“giving a name to the problem” – about dismantling the
obstacle and breaking it down into its concrete subelements
so we can see what is needed to solve each
separate element. For example, there is nothing difficult
about walking to the South Pole – all you have to do
is find your direction and start walking. Physically it is
exhausting, but that’s something entirely different. But
it’s not – difficult.”
While I am chewing this over, Cato Zahl continues:
”Sometimes you fight a lack of motivation because
you’re cold, tired or disheartened. Then the only option
is to step back and try to assess the situation: - What
exactly is the problem? Maybe you’re freezing to the
bone. - Okay, what can I do about that? Have I got an
extra pair of trousers in my rucksack? - Okay, would it
be a good idea to put them on? In this way, you gradually
break down a general limitation into specific things
that are limiting your ability to function.”
Keep Living
As a physically impaired person, Cato Zahl is used to
relying on auxiliary aids to compensate for his physical
limitations. The prosthesis attached to his right arm
is literally vital when he has to suspend himself from
a climbing rope on the mountain face. Perhaps it is
this ability to find concrete solutions to problems that

is reflected in his mentality, which virtually rules out
limitations. ”Limitations are only inside our heads – as
are possibilities,” is the title of a popular talk that Cato
gives to Norwegian businessmen.
”Generally speaking, the complexity of most company
projects far exceeds that of an expedition like ours,”
Cato points out. ”When I supervised the building of the
Cato Centre (a rehabilitation centre in Norway of which
Cato Zahl Pedersen was the initiator), the task was far
more complex than the one facing us on the mountain.
Getting all the finances in place, dealing with all the
politic challenges and finding the right staff – now that
was difficult.”
“Breaking down” limitations has become a guiding light
in his life, which is why he also has a positive attitude
towards Pressalit Care’s ”Keep Living” philosophy and
mission ”to provide maximum compensation for physical
limitations”, which later becomes the subject of
conversation.
“When healthy people see a functionally impaired person,
they often see a general limitation – a bit like the
demotivated expedition member,” explains Cato Zahl.
An employer avoids a person in a wheelchair because
he perceives the person as a problem. In his civilian job
as project manager, he works hard to knock down the
doors of Norwegian companies – and at the very least
get them to invite a person with impaired functionality
for a job interview the next time they have a vacant
position. Maybe they will discover that the best engineer
is a wheelchair user and that his functional limitation
can be alleviated using a stair ramp or a few simple
auxiliary aids in a handicap toilet.
FACTS:
Pressalit Group has entered into a sponsorship
agreement with Cato Zahl Pedersen and Cho Oyo
Unarmed Expedition 2005. The agreement means
that until the end of 2006, Cato Zahl will function
as ambassador for Pressalit Care’s products in
Norway.
The Cho Oyo Expedition will begin on 7 September
2005 and is expected to take 5 weeks.
It comprises seven members – six Norwegians and
one Dane. The youngest member is 26 and the
oldest 53.
In preparation for the expedition, Cato Zahl Pedersen
has climbed Norway’s “Glittertind” mountain.
Pressalit Care manufactures kitchen and bathroom
solutions for the functionally impaired.
Read more on:
www.catozahl.no
www.pressalitcare.dk
www.pressalitgroup.dk
Attitude to change
In a strange way, time has drawn a dotted line through
the high points of Cato Zahl Pedersen’s life. He thinks a
lot about the “triangle” - beginning with his 17,000 Volt
accident to his expedition to the South Pole and now
Cho Oyu. His story is soon to become the subject of a
book, he explains. Nowadays, Cato Zahl states without
any hesitation that we learn most from adverse situations,
and that attitude to change is the greatest challenge
we should address. Strong words indeed from a
walking torso.
Before we round off our talk, I have to ask him if there
is nothing at all that can phase a man such as Cato
Zahl. Yes, he assures me. When the people he works
with become indifferent, tepid and uninvolved or if team
members fight one another – that can dishearten him
and lead to a lack of commitment. If he is involved in
a project in which he does not feel committed, then he
has to find a proper way of moving on before it drains
all his energy. Otherwise he chooses to maintain a positive
outlook on life.
The next time I feel I’m about to “give up” on one of
my 10 kilometre runs or see more limitations in front of
me than possibilities, I will think back to this meeting
in Oslo and send a friendly thought to the man without
arms, who is about to tackle his 8,201-metre-high
mountain.
Pressalit Care products provide maximum compensation
for physical limitations. I have just met a man who
has the recipe for providing maximum compensation for
mental limitations – if he has any at all. Next to him, I
have to admit to feeling a bit functionally impaired.
keep living