We Are The Summit Seekers
You've heard of Mount Rainier, right? Yeah. You know, only the tallest volcano in Washington state. The one sitting so pretty at 14,411 feet. The one you can't help but gawk at on every single clear day we're blessed with, here in Washington. That one.
Well my friends and I recently accepted the challenge of participating in the American Lung Association’s annual fundraising event, Climb For Clean Air/Reach The Summit, and we need your help. This July, we will be attempting to summit Mount Rainier to support the American Lung Association’s ongoing efforts to fight lung disease. We love the mountains, but wanted to take it to the next level and raise money for the ALA to help meet their goal of saving lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research.
You read correctly, my friend. We are the Summit Seekers, and
WE ARE GOING TO SUMMIT MT. RAINIER IN JULY!
Chances are you know someone who has faced the challenges of asthma, COPD, lung cancer or air pollution. By making a donation on my behalf, you will be helping the American Lung Association provide community based education programs, fight for cleaner air standards and fund life-saving research. With your help, we will fight against lung disease and for lung health. We will be making a positive difference for all of the parents who have a child with asthma, the people who struggle daily with COPD and the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children and friends who get diagnosed with lung cancer.
Our "mountain family", as we also like to call ourselves, consists of 4 people: Joe & Kimberly Kommer, Erin Gainey, and yours truly. We all met in uniquely different ways, but what ultimately brought us together is our love and appreciation for the great outdoors. We recently got together to go over our our summit training plan, meal prep, hikes for the year, etc. and let me tell you.. 2018 is off to a GREAT start!
Erin is from Greenville, SC and has lived in Seattle for about 2.5 years. She works at Starbucks Corporate in Retail Operations and she’s pretty much a coffee snob for all the right reasons. Where there is adventure, there is coffee and this is something she is very passionate about.
Erin has been hiking for most of her adult life but after her move to Seattle she became involved with leading hikes, snowshoe tours and encouraging others to spend more time outdoors. The summit to Mt. Rainier will be the highest elevation and biggest summit accomplishment of her mountaineering career but the summit success goes much deeper than that. This is personal as it is to most climbers and advocating for those who can’t make the climb is something that she’s excited about.
Joe & Kim Kommer are originally from Saint Clair Shores, Michigan and are going on three years of living just outside Seattle. They moved to Washington in 2015 for Joe's career and have since built an adventurous life together.
Joe and Kim started hiking immediately after moving to the PNW, and two years later were introduced to mountaineering through Climb For Clean Air. They love to spend their free time with their two huskies hiking, camping and backpacking, and they're ambitious about their future mountaineering goals.
The Kommers are climbing Mt. Rainier through CFCA again this year to continue raising awareness for the American Lung Association. They both have personal connections to lung disease and want to help make a difference in the lives of those suffering from asthma, COPD and lung cancer.
Yours truly :) I moved to Washington in October 2012 with my now-husband, and it literally changed my life. Coming from a small town in Virginia, my eyes were opened to so much more than I could've imagined. I love spending as much time as possible outdoors - hiking, camping, snowshoeing, backpacking, kayaking - which I thankfully get to embrace whole-heartedly with my photography business. I have always been down for adventure, but Washington has helped me find a deeper piece of myself I didn't know existed.
When I first laid eyes on Rainier, I was in love. I'd be lying if I said I've always wanted to climb it -- I've always admired its beauty, but honestly never thought I'd have the guts to commit to something so extravagant! But enter Kim, Joe, and Erin into my life, and BAM, we have a plan! Even better, though, is that we're doing it for such an incredible cause.
As long as we are healthy enough to train, climb and summit, we will do so in the honor of others. We ask that you join us in this journey not only with financial support but also emotionally and spiritually. The mountains are a special place to us and we can’t wait to bring you along on the adventure with us in every way possible!
If you're already interested in donating, you can do so online by simply clicking on the link below. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution (made out to the American Lung Association) to me directly- just shoot me an email and I'll provide you with my address!
Any amount will be appreciated, but a gift of $100 or more will go a long way towards helping me reach my personal goal of $3,900 and help in the fight against lung disease. Thank you in advance for your support and generosity! As I train over the next 6 months in preparation, I will be extremely grateful of your efforts in helping me reach my goal.
Please feel free to share this with anyone and everyone you know!
And please leave us a comment of curiosity, encouragement, tips or advice. We’d love to hear from each of you along this journey and we WILL be responding and sharing details of our journey!