Is there anything in your life that you thought, “I’d like to do that,” or “That’s a dream of mine,”? It seems that there are two choices: 1) you do it, or 2) you don’t. Pretty simple.
Leta Sharpe came to that crossroads, as many of us do. Leta is a 42 year old single mom of a 7 year old, and has had the passion to climb a mountain once again. Sixteen years ago, she climbed Mt Rainier, only to be turned around before the summit. That experience was so incredible, but remained in away, unfulfilled. The only way to quench that desire was to, well, climb a mountain.
“You know,” Leta recalls, “the last big mountain I climbed was Rainier in 1995, and we didn’t summit because of the weather. So, ever since then, I wanted to return. But you know what? Life got in the way of living.”
Leta married her partner, started a family, divorced, and found herself at the age of 38 starting over with an amazing 2 1/2 year old son. Still, she had not returned to her dream of summiting a mountain and bringing mountaineering into her life in a meaningful way. The mountain lifestyle is integrated into every aspect of her life. She lives in Colorado, does trail runs, mountain bikes, hikes, and even works in the outdoor industry. Still, making the time to climb a mountain had not yet happened.
A few years ago, Leta learned about the Breast Cancer Fund. THE BREAST CANCER FUND IS THE ONLY ORGANIZATION THAT FOCUSES ON PREVENTION. Their motto is: Help us expose and eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer. Together we can stop the disease before it starts.
This is very different from the other organizations that only look at “awareness” and “the cure.” In fact, as Leta remarks, these other organizations “‘Race for the Cure,’ while they run from the cause.” She also says “As a society, we spend far, far too little effort on identifying the environmental and other causes of breast cancer. Shouldn’t we stop the disease BEFORE it starts?”
The main fundraiser that the Breast Cancer Fund does each year is called “Climb Against the Odds”, a climbing expedition. The climb of the 14,179′ Mt Shasta in 2011 represents the organization’s 12th year that they have held this event. The climb represents both a personal endeavor to honor the courage it takes to face breast cancer, and a collective effort to stop the disease before it starts.
Along with 33 other women and men, survivors and supporters, Leta joined the Breast Cancer Fund‘s 2011 team to summit Mt Shasta. She realized that achieving her goal could benefit so many more people, and in her mind, the breast Cancer Fund’s mission of PREVENTION was absolutely the right cause.
Since that time in December 2010 when Leta decided to join the team, she has been training and fundraising for months. Today, she has raised almost $24,000 and hopes to hit her goal of $25,000 by the time she summits Mt Shasta on June 22nd. To help Leta reach her goal, please consider donating to her climb at the secure website: www.breastcancerfund.org/2011climb/letas.
