The blind man of Hoy

the long version

The Old Man of Hoy is a 449-foot-high sandstone pillar just off the isle of Hoy in the Orkney Island group. Carved from the nearby cliffs, it will eventually, perhaps soon, collapse into the sea. It was first scaled by a British team in 1966. Young Red Széll watched the ascent on television and felt that life would be incomplete until he too stood atop Europe's tallest sea stack. But subsequently, at the age of nineteen, he began to go blind. Though he continued to climb, it was only indoors. It seemed impossible to reach this goal until years later, when he shared his dream with his buddies, Matthew and Andres. Then with other climbers, they too formed a team, and Red was on his way to the top of the Old Man.--Adapted from publisher's description.