Climb for Everest

Over the past year my family and I have gone from knowing almost nothing about lung cancer to being brutally familiar with the disease and its treatments. My mother was diagnosed in early January and within 6 short months she died leaving us wondering what we could have done. The truth is that presently there is very little that we could have done being that she never smoked and lived a healthy active lifestyle.

After trying everything from traditional treatment supplemented with alternative, spiritual, and dietary healing remedies we realized the sad reality that the only hope for future patients is further research.

Over the past five years, my family has lived an unconventional American lifestyle with family trips to Machupicchu and road-trips across Australia. My mother selflessly supported us (her three children) as we studied, taught, and explored the world with ever-escalating plans. Therefore, I know my mother would support my plans to climb Mt. Everest in the spring of 2007 in effort to raise money and awareness for LUNGevity.

Justin Hewitt (climbing partner and close family friend of six years) and I plan to climb the Northeast ridge of Mt. Everest via the Tibetan side. We hope to accomplish this while maintaining strong climbing ethics towards the environment, local culture, and the style in which we climb. For this purpose, we do not intend to utilize high-altitude Sherpa support in any way, and strive to avoid using fixed lines whenever possible. Although we are bringing an emergency supply of oxygen, our goal is to climb the mountain within our own abilities in order to celebrate the strength of healthy lungs.