Berkeley Spinal Network to feature Wheel the World traveler Alvaro Silberstein on Aug. 10

This Thursday's meeting of the Berkeley Spinal Network will feature quadriplegic UC Berkeley graduate student, Alvaro Silberstein, who completed a hike through the iconic Patagonia route located at the southern end of South America, shared by Argentina and Chile.

Alvaro navigated three iconic routes in Torres del Paine National Park in a wheelchair.  For the expedition, called Wheel the World, he raised $8,000 to purchase a trekking wheelchair — the same model that has been used by some to reach Mt. Everest’s base camp — which he donated to the park for use by future visitors in need.

Alvaro in the special trekking wheelchair designed for hikes.

He made the trip last December accompanied by a 12-member team, which included mountaineers, disabilities experts, a physical therapist, a fellow MBA student, a filmmaker and photographers.

Alvaro will show a short movie about his trip through Patagonia and then open it up to discussion. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. with free food and drinks and the presentation will start at 7 p.m.  

The meeting is held at the Ed Roberts Campus located at 3075 Adeline, Berkeley. Additionally, if you're unable to attend in person, a live webinar/phone conference line will also be open for anyone to call in and join the conversation or ask questions. The line will open at 6:30 p.m. and you may call (415) 655-0381 use access code: 649-375-826, press#. To view the event in real-time, you may do so at https://join.me/spinalnetwork. For more information, contact Tom Shankle at (415) 205-3882 or spinalnetwork@everydayabilities.org.