Helping Dreams Comes True

Hotel Las Torres helped Álvaro Silberstein, a 31-year-old tetraplegic from Santiago, release his dream of becoming the second person to navigate the famous “W” Circuit in a wheelchair.

Currently an MBA student at UC Berkeley in California, Silberstein suffered a spinal cord injury, lost both legs and partial use of his arms and hands in a car accident at age 19. In order to achieve his goal of conquering Torres del Paine, he formed a nonprofit called Wheel the World to raise funds for the adventure and show the world what disabled people are capable of doing.

“We want to raise awareness, and increase visibility of people with disabilities—people who are active, who have challenges, and live life to the fullest,” Silberstein told the Haas Business School newsletter. “We also want to work on making the parks more accessible in Chile. When I had my accident, one of my biggest concerns was not being able to enjoy traveling and to enjoy nature because it would be different. But I’ve realized everyone can enjoy nature, and I want to inspire others to do it as well.”

Silberstein navigated all three sections of the “W” route using a customized $8,000 trekking wheelchair made in France. His 12-person team helped him over natural barriers and up steep inclines in the park, while horses supplied by Hotel Las Torres estancia transported all the necessary gear to support the ambitious trek.

To make sure that other disabled people can replicate his fantastic journey, Silberstein and his team left the special wheelchair behind at Torres del Paine. We are proud of this amazing achievement and happy that we could be part of it. Check out this video about his trek — Wheel the World – Torres del Paine.