TOKYO, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- An American man who lost the use of his legs in a car crash successfully "climbed" to the summit of Japan's highest peak, Mount Fuji, this week.
The BBC said it took Oregon State University student Keegan Reilly four days to complete the ascent using a titanium climbing bike propelled by a hand-crank and equipped with disc brakes and 42 gears.
The BBC said more than 20,000 people climb the 12,385-foot-high Mount Fuji each year but Reilly's success is believed the first unassisted ascent by a paraplegic climber.
Bicycles are normally banned on Mount Fuji but Reilly's team negotiated with Japanese authorities to grant him an exception.
The 22-year-old Reilly previously climbed Colorado's Mount Elbert and California's Mount Shasta. He told the BBC he next plans to tackle Mount Rainier in Washington state and after that he hopes to climb Aconcagua, South America's highest mountain.
Said Reilly: "I want to show people what I am able to do, Maybe it will inspire them."
