Archive for April, 2007

Boulder Bound

Published April 1, 2007 Uncategorized Leave a Comment

I sit here on a Sunday afternoon looking out my window at the eastern slope of the Rockies in Boulder, CO.  Did I say Boulder?  But I’m from Boston how is it I came to so recently reside in Boulder?  My first full week here and everyday I am asking myself that question.  In many ways it is the place for me to be since everyone in Boulder is an athlete and on any given day or time you can see swarms of cyclists, runners and various a sundry athletic endeavors taking place.  I almost feel guilty sitting inside on yet another beautiful Colorado day.  But as my trainers point out, rest is a part of muscle recovery and training.  Tomorrow, like everyone else on a Monday morning, I will return to work.  My work just happens to be training to climb.

My intention is to be here through my climb of Cho Oyu this August; a prep climb for Everest in 2009.  Cho Oyu is twenty kilometers from Everest, 26,000 feet high and will be the first time I will climb with oxygen.  But I must admit to some pretty heavy duty homesickness for friends and family back east- so I’m questioning my reasoning for relocating 2200 miles to the west.  I’m certain that is part of the training as well.  Often on these big mountains far away from all that is familiar I find myself longing for home.  Both Cho Oyu and Everest will test my commitment to both myself, my mission and the mountain.  So perhaps living here, training here and being on my own are all in preparation for what lies ahead.  The journey never seizes to amaze me.

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About Wendy Booker

In June of 1998, this 55 year old mother of three was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS after experiencing balance problems, blurred vision and numbness on her left side. When first diagnosed, Wendy was devastated. But it took very little time for her to transform anguish into inspiration. She immediately turned her hobby of casual running into a continuous pursuit and has now completed nine marathons.

Mountain climbing became the next conquest. Wendy learned about a team of mountain climbers with Multiple Sclerosis who were attempting to climb Mt. McKinley (Denali) in Alaska. With no previous climbing experience, she dedicated a year to hard training and set off with them in 2002. Although weather conditions prohibited the team from completing, Wendy attempted the summit again in 2004 on her own and she succeeded!

The feeling of accomplishment she experienced propelled her next aspiration: to climb the highest mountain on each continent. Just five years later, Wendy Booker has successfully reached the top of six of The Seven Summits – Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. McKinley, Mt. Elbrus, Mt. Aconcagua, Mt. Vinson Massif and Mt. Kosciuszko. Mt. Everest, the highest mountain on earth, still awaits for 2010.