Thursday, February 21, 2002 • Vol 8, Issue 4
Peak performance
Staff members gear up to ascend Rainier, Baker, Glacier for June-July fund-raising Climb to Fight Breast Cancer
By BRAD BROBERG
 |
|
Photo by Suen Sohn
|
| Justin Evans, a lab aide in the Edgar Lab in the Basic Sciences Division, pauses while hiking through the Olympics last July. Evans has signed up to ascend Mount Baker as part of the Climb to Fight Breast Cancer. |
Imagine fulfilling a personal dream while contributing to a lifesaving cause - all during the same weekend.
If that combination sounds elevating, you might want to join staffers Justin Evans, Tristine Glick, Joyce Bellefeuille and lots of other folks at the top a mountain this June or July.
Evans, a lab aide in the Edgar Lab in the Basic Sciences Division; Glick, an administrative assistant in Development; and Bellefeuille, data control technician for the Cancer Prevention Research Program in the Public Health Sciences Division, are participating in the Hutch's fifth annual Climb to Fight Breast Cancer, which benefits breast cancer pilot studies at the Center.
Saturday session
Slots are filling up, and a mandatory training session for registered climbers is set from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, in Pelton Auditorium.
The climb is actually five climbs. Single teams of Hutch staff, breast cancer survivors, their loved ones and others who want to support the cause will ascend Mount Rainier and Glacier Peak. Three teams will scale Mount Baker. A
lthough the Mount Rainier and Glacier Peak teams are full, spots remain for the Mount Baker climbs.
To register, visit the center's Internet site at http://www.fhcrc.org/climb . Those interested in being put on a waiting list for Mount Rainier or Glacier Peak also should send in an application.
Guides from Alpine Ascent International will help train and lead participants, who climb in teams of nine or 10.
The main requirements are strength and endurance, plus the ability to raise a minimum of $3,000 in pledges for Glacier Peak or Mount Baker and $4,000 for Mount Rainier by June 7. The overall goal of the 2002 climb is to raise $150,000.
Organized for four years by the all-volunteer Climb to Fight Breast Cancer Committee, the climb already has raised $310,000. The money funds breast-cancer pilot studies, the first step toward competing for large-scale research grants.
An avid hiker who spent several summers fighting wildfires in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Evans isn't sweating over the challenge of reaching the 10,781-foot summit of Mount Baker.
"I'm a lot more nervous about raising the money," he said. "I haven't really had to do anything like that in my life."
Evans only recently learned about the climb on the Center's Internet site.
"I didn't have to think about it too much," he said. "I just decided I wanted to do it. I've always wanted to get into climbing, and this is a great way to get started."
But that's not his only motivation.
"My mom had breast cancer several years ago, so this seemed like a good thing to do," he said. "She's doing well these days. I told her about the climb, and she sounded enthusiastic."
Glick will climb Mount Rainier. Like Evans, she spends a lot of time in the outdoors. However, the 14,411-foot Rainier will be her first mountain climb.
"I'm pretty confident," she said. "They definitely prepare you for the climb."
Training hikes
While climbers are responsible for getting themselves into shape, the climb committee has developed a training regimen as well as a schedule of training hikes and is available to answer any questions climbers have about conditioning.
In addition to help with their conditioning, climbers receive basic fund-raising support and advice from the event's organizers. Glick is counting on help from co-workers.
"I'm a little bit nervous about it," she said, "but I hope my friends in Development will provide me with ideas."
Glick actually intended to join the climb last year, but a skiing injury forced her to wait. She was inspired after listening to former participants describe the climb during a visit to Development.
"They were just so excited about the overall experience that I decided I wanted to do it myself," she said. "Plus, participating in an event like this is good for the overall image of the Hutch."
Glick said she doesn't know exactly how she'll celebrate conquering Mount Rainier, but she knows she will feel intensely satisfied.
"All of that fund-raising and training will take a lot of focus," she said.
"When I finally reach the top, I'm going to feel really good about it."
