Transforming the stigma through an expedition of vulnerability and perserverance

WHERE I’M GOING

The Seven Summits

I’ve upped the ante and decided to take on a much larger feat that just one mountain in one range. I’m going to take on a one of the ultimate challenges for a mountaineer - the 7 summits. These consist of the highest peak on each continent including Mt. Everest of Russia, Aconcagua of South America, Denali of North America, Kilimanjaro of Africa, Elbrus of Europe, Vinson Massif of Antarctica, and Kosciuszko of Australia. I completed Mt. Kilimanjaro when I was 18, so I have 6 to go!

**The air is thinner at higher altitude, which results in less oxygen available. Therefore, the higher one climbs, the harder your body has to work and physiologically adapt to get anything done.**

Mt. Everest

Aconcagua

Photo by CLAUDIO MOTA on Unsplash

Elbrus

Photo by Vladislav Zakharevich on Unsplash

Mount Kosciuszko

Photo by Christian Bass on Unsplash

Kilimanjaro

Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash

Denali

Photo by Bryson Beaver on Unsplash

Vinson Massif

Source: Shutterstock: Lua Carlos Martins

"Over every mountain there is a path. Although it may not be seen from the valley"

Theodore Roethke

WHY?

I couldn’t stop at one peak. We raised $7,500 for that Himalayan peak, and I’m determined to keep going, because the battle doesn’t stop. There is still a stigma. There is still a need. So lets continue to take it on, right? Once again, I’m going for a large goal that will challenge me physically and mentally, as that is exactly what it feels like to live with mental health struggles every day of our lives.

It has always seemed impossible that I would ever make it to these huge mountains; it just didn’t seem plausible. That has changed. In the midst of my war on mental health, I am going for MY impossible, and people who don’t understand the mental health world don’t ever think that’s an option for us warriors. We’re written off as “crazy” and “unstable” in a world that is made to put us down, and I’m sick of it. They don’t think I can graduate and become a counselor? Watch me. They don’t think I can maintain emotional health? Done it for a year, next. They don’t think I’m capable of going for my impossible… my personal mountain? Well, here I go. And that’s why I’m going for these peaks; it’s been filed away forever as unrealistic, but I’m not putting barriers on myself anymore. It’s a challenge I need to take. So I’m going to do just that. I’m here to show as many people as possible that us “crazy” people can do just as much as the next person. Our “damaged goods” can be turned into weapons. It’s my way of saying “WE CAN!” People like me need to know that they are capable of what they put their minds to, and people different from me need help seeing this truth.

WHERE I’VE BEEN

The Himalayas

a majestic place filled with the tallest mountains in the world.

a place that attracts the most elite athletes as well as the every day tourist.

ISLAND PEAK DETAILS

I traveled between 100 and 115 miles (160-180km) gaining an estimated 38,000 cumulative feet (11,582m) of elevation from December 1-22 with a local guide company called Mountain Monarch. Island Peak is a 20,305’ (6189m) trekking peak in the Everest region of the Himalayas that attracts people from all around the world. It has an alpine rating of PD+, meaning that there are a few sections of climbing that involve technical climbing and complicated glaciers.