Want to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for a Good Cause?

I did last year. Now it’s your turn!

Registration for Survivor Summit, a LIVESTRONG-partnered event I participated in as part of the inaugural 2012 team, opens today for its February 8-21, 2014 expedition…

This is an opportunity to fundraise $10,000 for cancer programs and services, and challenge yourself as you climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the world’s tallest freestanding mountain and one of the “seven summits.” This time around, you’ll head up the Rongai route to the roof of Africa. And as a reward, you’ll go on a safari after the climb to the Ngorongoro Crater.

No previous climbing experience is required; just a good attitude and a strong desire to kick cancer to the curb.

For more information, CLICK HERE.

You know this will be the experience of a lifetime. So go ahead, apply! Good luck!

My Austin Partner in Climb

It was so nice to catch up with my tentmate and “partner in climb” from Survivor Summit, Mindy today at Whole Foods! Even though we both live in Austin, we hadn’t seen each other since October. This time around, we didn’t have to worry about setting up our sleeping bags and sleeping pads in the shadow of Uhuru—we just ate good food and enjoyed each other’s company. Here’s hoping I get to see her again soon.

The Journey Is the Reward

In 2006, I was a pretty immature undergraduate student who hadn’t traveled anywhere outside of the United States. Lucky for me, I was able to participate in a unique study abroad experience called Semester at Sea (SAS), an accredited educational program aboard a converted cruise ship that integrates multiple-country study and interdisciplinary coursework for meaningful engagement in the global community.

My particular trip was a 65 day summer voyage around the Pacific Rim; we sailed from Mexico to Hawaii, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam (with an airplane ride to Cambodia), South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and Japan to San Diego. I witnessed extreme poverty, beautiful cultures and people, ancient temples and structures, and densely-populated urban environments, all of which fueled my desire to engage in service-related endeavors, and keep seeing as much of the world as possible. SAS helped me grow up, and the experience truly helped shape me into the person I am today.

Fast forward a few years later, and as you know, I was fortunate enough to be involved with the incredible organization known as Survivor Summit.

Well, a few months ago, I updated the SAS alumni relations office with news about our group’s successful climb to the roof of Africa. I opened up my mailbox today to find a copy of SAS’s Fall 2012 publication, Shipmates, and saw that Survivor Summit got a shout out. The short blurb states that,

“Lisa and her Survivor Summit teammates summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro on July 2, 2012, helping to raise more than $200,000 to benefit cancer programs at LIVESTRONG. Lisa credits her SAS experience with the inspiration to help those facing challenges.”

I think it’s worth noting that SAS really gave me the confidence to challenge myself. This lesson came in handy when I stood for 46 hours to fight pediatric cancer with Penn State’s Dance MaraTHON in 2007, and rode a bike 4,500 miles with Texas 4000 for Cancer in 2009. And that’s what my climb up Kilimanjaro with Survivor Summit in July was all about as well. In fact, Survivor Summit’s mission is to empower individuals and provide inspiration, motivation, and hope for those among us facing uphill battles. 

So thank goodness for the cool experiences I’ve had and for the amazing perspectives on life that I’ve gained as a result. I know I’ll cherish and grow from them for many years to come.

And after a long return to work post-holiday weekend, this magazine was a welcome and happy surprise in my mailbox, too. For want of SAS frozen yogurt from the MV Explorer’s seventh deck snack bar, I’m going to have to reward myself with some dark chocolate instead.

Partners in Climb

Today was the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin, Texas. My Survivor Summit teammates and I had a chance to reunite several months after summitting Kilimanjaro together to fight cancer. I had a blast seeing my teammates again and riding bicycles with them, too!

And while not everyone could make it out to Austin, we were still together in spirit—evidenced most poignantly by (our summit guide/expedition leader) Chris Warner’s message to us on Saturday morning:

“…make us proud this weekend. i am sitting below everest and thinking about all of you. Chris”

It’s pretty incredible that we spent a little less than two weeks together as a group, and that we’ve been fortunate enough to leave imprints on each other’s lives. And while we never may be teammates climbing a 19,341 foot peak again, one thing is for certain:

We are all friends for life, and partners in climb.

…and now, before this post gets too cheesy, this was the follow up message from Chris’ original, just a few hours later:

“just getting back to the tea house from everest base camp. hopefully you miscreants aren’t still at the bar. but if you happen to be have a beer for me.”

Ah yes, my teammates and I had plenty of fun, and we are thick as thieves.

Why I Climb(ed)

On September 19, some two and a half months after summitting Kilimanjaro, I’ve finally changed the “Why I Climb” section of my blog to “Why I Climb(ed).” While I still long for smelling the cool mountain air, looking at the smiles of the Tanzanian guides and porters, and thinking about all the amazing people and stories that inspired me to climb, I’m happy to be back home in America.

Don’t get me wrong: endings like this one were bittersweet; one second, I was on top of the world (literally), watching the sun rise and feeling its warmth in my soul…and the next, I was back at my office desk, bathed in a fluorescent light. I went from climbing over ancient rocks and boulders and helping others to watching cable from my couch and typing emails.

But it’s exciting to think about all the new adventures upon which I’m lucky enough to embark. Next on my list are a few races to run, and a LIVESTRONG Challenge where I can ride my bike, too. My perspective is renewed, and I’m smarter for it. I’ve realized that while the climb is over, the experiences and lessons learned are not. As I remember writing my penultimate Texas 4000 blog post, which was a stream of consciousness coupled with reflection and emotion:

“I thought—happily—to myself, ‘it’s not over yet.’

Because there’s no going back to normal after this. Not after the things I’ve seen, the people I’ve met, and the places I’ve been. Not after the summer I’ve spent with 43 friends—and my Rockies brothers and sisters. Not after riding to Alaska. The ride has effectively changed me for the rest of my life and, in doing so, the ride never really ends.

It keeps going, until we find a cure. It keeps going, in my heart and my memories, through my blogs and photos. The distance keeps us together. And it keeps us going; this whole experience is part of me, forever.”

It’s a little normal—and okay, maybe a little lame—for me to be back at home and taking care of the regular, mundane aspects of my life. Yet for what I hope to do longterm, things are far from being boring. I value the opportunity I had to climb Kilimanjaro with Survivor Summit. I want to always cherish those memories and remember why (and for whom) I climbed. I aim to harness those moments of my life spent in Tanzania in order to be extraordinary, kind, and compassionate. As such, I will always be climbing for a cure and in turn, striving to be the best person I can be.