Archive for May 12th, 2009

Playing the Waiting Game

Published May 12, 2009 Uncategorized 6 Comments
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Wendy's Recovery Teahouse in Debouche, Nepal

Wendy's Recovery Teahouse in Debouche, Nepal

When the team came down to the valley, they were hoping to only be off the mountain for 3 days, but here we are at 5 days and counting!  The endless waiting is mentally exhausting and who knows when the weather will clear.

Wendy reports that the conditions are really horrible and even in the valley they are experiencing a severe snow storm.  Outside communications and satellite connections have been rare due to the weather conditions.  We had hoped that communication would improve at the lower elevations, but no such luck thanks to the storm!

Wendy is diong well.  She said that a few climbers had decided to leave Everest without trying for the summit, but her expedition is sticking it out and hoping that they will be able to make an attempt by the end of May as planned.  This weather delay will push summit dates back, and we are no longer planning for a possible early summit and homecoming.

Wendy thinks about all of you all the time.  Please know that your support, encouragement, belief and inspiring words mean the world to her!

Climb on,

Trish

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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.