Chris sustained a traumatic spinal cord injury in a rock-climbing accident near Eleven Mile Reservoir in Colorado. While leading a summer outing for a group of teenagers and setting up a climbing route, an error with the rope system occurred, and he fell approximately 90 feet after releasing from the wall anchor without being properly secured to the belay system. The fall resulted in multiple injuries, including a complete T6 spinal cord injury, requiring several months of recovery and intensive rehavilitation at Craig Hospital. he has used a manual wheelchair for mobility since his injury.