Lighting the Way for Others
Fortitude, ingenuity, optimism, perseverance, and generosity are only a few of the traits that describe Bend resident Geoff Babb, founder, co-inventor, and inspiration behind the AdvenChair, an all-terrain human-powered wheelchair that thinks it’s a mountain bike, made completely in Central Oregon.
Lighting the Way for Others
By Sue Stafford
Fortitude, ingenuity, optimism, perseverance, and generosity are only a few of the traits that describe Bend resident Geoff Babb, founder, co-inventor, and inspiration behind the AdvenChair, an all-terrain human-powered wheelchair that thinks it’s a mountain bike, made completely in Central Oregon.
This former fire ecologist for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Prineville turned a life-altering brain stem stroke on November 10, 2005, (and another one on November 10, 2017 — that’s right, the same date 12 years later) into an avenue for healing, invention, and expanding his world as well as touching the lives of young and old with mobility limitations.
An avid outdoorsman raised in White Salmon, WA, who loved hiking, backpacking, skiing, and immersing himself in nature, Babb could have given up at age 48, considered himself an invalid, and led a quiet sedentary life of indoor confinement. But Babb turned his strokes into the impetus to create a heavy-duty wheelchair with mountain bike tires and brakes that would allow him to continue meeting the outdoor challenges and rewards presented by Mother Nature.
After a period of recuperation and rehab, Babb joined Oregon Adaptive Sports to return to the slopes on a sit-ski. He also utilized the equine therapy and adaptive horseback riding offered by Healing Reins.
Despite his first stroke in 2005, Babb was able to continue working for BLM for another 12 years in a leadership role on the Fire Management Team. He was able to go to fire camps when they were held in places like Sisters Middle School but at that time he couldn’t navigate pastures and other rugged terrain in his ordinary wheelchair. And he wasn’t going to let the challenges posed by trails, beaches, and woods deter him. Instead, they were an inspiration.
After his first stroke, Geoff had been working with CAD design engineer Jack Arnold and helicopter mechanic Dale Neubauer to design a rugged all-terrain chair that could get him out into nature. That first version was lovingly referred to as the FrankenChair. The first big test of that initial model came on September 26, 2016, when an attempt was made to descend into the Grand Canyon. As Geoff described it, fortuitously, the chair’s axle broke within the first two miles on the trail, providing feedback to the team about what worked and what didn’t, and adjustments were designed. The first design review of a new prototype occurred in the summer of 2017.
On November 10, 2017, Geoff experienced his second brain stem stroke, which impacted his ability to speak, swallow, and use his right hand. In his usual can-do way, Babb retired from his fire management position, saying the second stroke had now given him more time to work on the chair.
On November 10, 2018 (there’s that day again), they had the rollout party for the public unveiling of AdvenChair 1.0. Within a year they had applied for a patent. The December 2019 prototype was the AdvenChair 2.0 and marked the first sale of a chair. It sported a bright orange powder-coated finish.
As described on the AdvenChair website, “With shock-absorbing mountain bike tires, adjustable handlebars, and hand brakes, an adjustable seat and harness, a team of one to six people can navigate AdvenChair 3.0 over all types of rugged terrain, mud, sand, and snow, allowing people with mobility challenges to experience the serenity and grandeur of wild places with family and friends.”
After extensive testing and a few modifications in 2020, Babb began taking orders and received his first shipment of upgraded AdvenChair 3.0 chairs in June 2021.
In April 2022, Geoff assembled a team of 10 men and women from across the country who would serve as his “mule team” to guide Geoff and his AdvenChair to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up. There were 14 more volunteers providing support at the rim basecamp.
In just four days, Geoff and his team made a 20-mile round trip on the Bright Angel Trail, descending and ascending 4,800 feet each way, with 3,000 water bars, some more than a foot tall and at awkward angles, both down and back up. Water bars, made of wood or rocks, are a trail construction feature that helps prevent rain and snow runoff erosion on the trail by diverting water off the trail. Geoff and his chair needed to get over each of those 6,000 water bars with his team lifting, pulling, pushing, and braking. The squads would switch out every 20 minutes to avoid exhaustion. AdvenChairing is definitely a team sport with Geoff scouting from his chair.
Whenever they encountered a mule train on the trail, they would step to the side and stand in front of Geoff and his chair as the mules were spooked by a wheeled vehicle. The first night they camped at Indian Garden and day 2 they made it to Bright Angel Campground after maneuvering the Holy Jesus Corner on the Devil’s Corkscrew with its sharp switchbacks. Babb’s wife, Yvonne, got to push him across the bridge over the Colorado River. Fortunately, Geoff knew the AdvenChair would fit as he got the measurements from the Park Service beforehand. The return trip uphill went faster but proved more challenging, partially due to the 90-degree temperatures, requiring cooling off feet in the creek.
On April 28, 2022, Babb and his team accomplished his Grand AdvenChair dream of 15 years which, according to Babb, was “a once in a lifetime experience with good people.” He summed it up this way, “The biggest thing for me was to celebrate. Not only the completion of AdvenChair 3.1, but to celebrate where we are in life. I’ve come so far after my strokes and all my other medical challenges that I’ve had. To come here with a great group of people and spend four days in the Grand Canyon. Definitely not the proverbial ‘walk in the park,’ by any means. It was an epic adventure in every way. Everyone did their part — lots of leadership, lots of teamwork. I couldn’t ask for much more.”
Through all his successes and challenges, Babb’s wife of 40 years, Yvonne, has been right there with him. Babb doesn’t view himself as a victim. Rather he sees his strokes as “kind of a blessing.” The Babbs have had their challenges, but their life has been deepened. He thinks the Grand Canyon adventure is a perfect analogy for their life together. They met at an Outdoor School two-day training where Babb noticed Yvonne, an Illinois farm girl, but didn’t meet her until the camp. And the rest, as they say, is history.
To this day, Outdoor School plays a role in their lives as they have provided 14 chairs (nine in Oregon) to the camps, allowing mobility-challenged students to join in the full range of activities, providing fun attention as able-bodied students act as their team to move the chair. They can touch the plants, ride in a canoe, and be part of the whole experience.
Geoff and Yvonne have grown twin sons, Emory and Cory, who were 13 when Babb had his first stroke. He said the boys were “a big help and really responsible,” especially after they got their driver’s licenses. Cory is married, living in Arkansas, and practicing restorative agriculture, growing over 30 varieties of vegetables for area restaurants. Emory has lived in Beijing for 10 years. The Babbs visited him there in November 2025 as they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and marked the 20th anniversary of Geoff’s first stroke and the eighth anniversary of his second one.
During their 19-day stay in China, with the endless traffic, myriad construction sites, and dearth of wheelchair ramps and curb cuts, touring Beijing would have been almost impossible for a regular wheelchair without the versatility, agility, and rugged features of the AdvenChair.
They explored the Forbidden City palace complex where dynasty emperors ruled China for more than 500 years. They also took in the Summer Palace and did some bird watching, encountering species new to them.
On November 10, that familiar anniversary date, they visited The Great Wall of China about 100 kilometers from Beijing on a guided tour led by Beijing Hikers, an outfitter similar to Bend’s Wanderlust Tours.
Geoff hopes to return to China. “I won’t call it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I am deeply determined to come back to Beijing to get a few AdvenChairs rolling around the area, so that more people can experience the friendly culture and great food, not to mention explore The Great Wall and all the unique wonders of this magnificent country.”
Wanderlust Tours and AdvenChair partnered to offer a series of “AdvenTours” in 2024 and 2025 that allowed people of all ages with mobility challenges to experience interpretive hikes and adventures where the pavement ends. They led accessible tours at Smith Rock State Park, Benham Falls, Shevlin Park, the shoreline of Crater Lake, the panoramic summit of Tumalo Mountain, and along both Paulina and Tumalo creeks. Visit Central Oregon funded the first grant for AdvenTours. The 2026 schedule of AdvenTours features an assortment of familiar favorites as well as some new adventures. People can also customize their own AdvenTour. In the second year, Wanderlust opened up the AdvenTours to the general public.
“Not only did this allow for more choices and less cost for those desiring an AdvenTour, it also increased exposure of the barriers that exist for people with mobility challenges,” said Courtney Braun, co-owner of Wanderlust Tours.
“DREAM BOLDLY: The Grand AdvenChair” is a 48-minute documentary chronicling Geoff Babb’s 2022 adventure with 10 team members to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in his AdvenChair 3.1, and the events leading up to it. It can be viewed online at Dream Boldly or on the AdvenChair website.
AdvenChair has provided access to iconic and challenging destinations on four different continents, including Machu Picchu in Peru and the Camino de Fatima in Portugal besides the Grand Canyon and The Great Wall of China.
In 2025, The Onward Project EIN 33-1289851 attained IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. Their mission is to inspire and empower those with mobility challenges to access and enjoy nature through experiences, community support, equipment, training, and advocacy. They do that primarily through experiences with the AdvenChair.