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more photosKatie Williams, 53, climbed Mount Hood last year as part of a fundraiser for the American Lung Association of Oregon.
Deep breath of success on Mount Hood
Reach the Summit program helps Sisters woman change path away from emphysema
By Markian Hawryluk / The Bulletin
Published: January 10. 2009 4:00AM PSTKatie Williams had always been intrigued by the notion of climbing Mount Hood. But the 53-year-old Sisters resident just never really got around to trying it.
When she received a brochure for the American Lung Association of Oregon’s Reach the Summit program, however, it had a special resonance for her. Her maternal grandparents had both died of lung cancer, and she had started smoking herself at age 14. By the time she was 25, she was smoking nearly three packs a day and suffering from chronic lung problems. Spurred by her doctor’s emphysema-by-30 prognosis and a nighttime incident of coughing up blood, she quit smoking cold turkey nearly 30 years ago. Here was a chance to strike back.
The Reach the Summit program offers individuals the training and support to climb a mountain such as Mount Hood in exchange for raising money to benefit the lung association’s research and outreach efforts. It was the right goal and the right cause for Williams.
“It amazes me today how many people still smoke. Even with all the research and all the knowledge we have, people still smoke,” she says. “I felt it was such an awesome cause and they do such good work, and that’s what motivated me to really go do this.”
Organizers of the Reach the Summit program will hold an informational meeting in Bend on Tuesday for individuals interested in participating in the 2009 lineup of climbs (see “If you go”).
Williams signed up for a Mount Hood climb and committed to raise more than $3,000. Program officials provided her with advice on how to raise the funds, while Timberline Mountain Guides, a Bend-based guiding company, organized how-to clinics and training hikes for the participants.
Williams and her climbing team started their summit bid at 11:30 p.m. June 21, climbing the more than 3,500 vertical feet to the summit in the dark, reaching the pinnacle precisely at dawn.
“It was such an amazing experience being on top of Mount Hood at sunrise and being able to look out and see Mount Adams and Mount Rainier,” Williams says. “It was truly awe-inspiring.”
The Reach the Summit program, developed by Jennifer Baldwin, development director for the Oregon affiliate of the American Lung Association, is starting its sixth year. It has raised $1 million over the first five years and is one of the group’s most important fundraising efforts.
“It started out with 24 climbers the first year, and last year we had over 70,” Baldwin says. “It’s a program that really captures people’s imaginations.”
As the program has grown, it has expanded to include other peaks including Mount Adams in Washington and Grant Teton in Wyoming. This year, for the first time, participants can join a two-week climbing expedition in Ecuador. All of the climbs are led by Timberline Mountain Guides, with the exception of the Teton climb, led by Jackson Hole Mountain Guides.
Timberline co-director Pete Keane says almost anyone who has the desire to climb such peaks can do so. Most of the Reach the Summit climbers have never climbed before.
“We look for people who are motivated and have a good, flexible attitude, folks who want to learn new skills and folks who want to spend some real effort getting in shape to do something like this,” Keane says.
The guide service leads private climbs up Mount Hood and sometimes sees clients who aren’t in shape for climbing. But Keane says the Reach the Summit format helps to ensure participants are ready for the physical challenge and those climbers have a high success rate.
Baldwin says she modeled the program on a marathon training program she ran at a previous job. She wanted to ensure that people had all the training and skills needed to climb the peaks.
“I’ve had all kinds of people come through this program and be successful,” she says. “I’ve had people in their 60s, I’ve had people who were overweight. I’ve had people with asthma.”
Baldwin says the fundraising challenge is often the greater hurdle, but the association provides plenty of support. “If you want to do it, you can get it done,” she says. “I’ve had people from all sorts of economic situations get the fundraising done.”
Williams says her climb was so exciting, she’s set her sights on another Oregon landmark, Mount Jefferson.
“You meet some real amazing people that you stay in touch with and you really bond with when you’re climbing up the mountain,” she says. “It’s such a great cause and an excellent way to achieve a goal for yourself.”
Markian Hawryluk can be reached at 541-617-7814 or mhawryluk@bendbulletin.com.
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