Inspired to Climb by Women of Congo

HOW ONE ARTICLE CHANGED MY LIFE

Life has given me several "wake up calls," causing me to make 180 degree changes in life, but one of the most impactful ones happened August 2007 while reading Glamour Magazine looking for haircut ideas one night. As I flipped through the pages what stuck out was not the new ideal haircut, but instead Eve Ensler's account of her visit to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the remarkable women she met there. These women lived in a world where 420,000 women are raped each year -- roughly 48 per hour and 1,152 per day. Shocking I know, but sadly true. They had endured and survived brutalities unimaginable to most humans, but the key thing was they had survived and showing incredible resilience and the deep desire for a better future. I remember feeling so ignorant, confused, enraged...asking myself why I didn't know about this? Why was this not splashed across all mainstream media? Why was I reading about this in a fashion magazine? If this were happening to a population of men, I think the whole world would know about it...right? Since then Dr. Mukwege of Panzi Hospital has won the Nobel Peace Prize and his efforts over two decades later are getting the recognition and support they deserve.

The Call to Action

It’s hard to describe the connection I felt and still feel to these women half way around the world. As I read Eve’s words they pierced my soul, they made me question humanity while also making me feel like we were all one. There was really no option to forget about what I had learned. All I knew at that moment and after doing some more research was that I wanted to do something to help and have voice to raise awareness. I decided to give myself a challenge that for me would be almost 'impossible' to complete at that time in my life. I launched a campaign, Climb Take Action, to climb the highest peak on each continent to raise funds and awareness for these survivors of some of the most horrific gender-based violence of its kind. In 2009 I was able to visit the Uganda/DRC border with International Medical Corps and meet some of these women. Their stories, their tears, their smiles, and their resilience have served as endless inspiration and confirmed that "it only takes one"-- if you can make a difference in the life of another human, even if just one, to them it meant the world. As the years went on, I learned to be a mountaineer, to ski, to run, and more. I expanded the challenge to complete the Explorer Grand Slam, which I am 3 expeditions short of completing and looking for sponsorship partners to complete the challenge.

In visiting some of these remote places on earth, both beautiful and fragile, it is impossible to ignore the effects of climate change on our planet. Especially with my remaining expeditions to the arctic regions of the North Pole and South Pole, the highest peak in Antarctica, and a peak that once had a glacier on it, Carstensz Pyramid in Papua New Guinea. This project must also share the story of these places at risk and ways each of us can help minimize our impact on our earth. Our lives depend on it.