By SARAH SCHWARZ
For The Beachcomber
When islander Carol Eggen told friend and fellow islander Jeannine Emery she was thinking of climbing Mount Rainier, Emery was supportive but declined an offer to join. When she learned they could climb as a fundraiser for the American Lung Association, a cause she had long supported, she immediately agreed to join Eggen.
“This will fulfill a personal goal of mine and do some good at the same time,” Eggen said. “It helps that it’s a cause I really believe in.”
Since then, Emery was injured in a hiking accident and will be unable to participate in the climb. Eggen is still going, joining a group of climbers from around the region who have all trained and fundraised for the event.
About 30 people are completing the 26th annual Climb for Clean Air in two groups, the first of which has already completed the trip. Eggen will be in the second group, which leaves Friday.
The climb is led by professional guides, and Eggen said that most of the participants have never climbed Rainier before. The expenses of the climb are covered by the American Lung Association, though participants do need to buy their own gear. They also pledge, at the beginning, to raise $3,750 each.
Emery and Eggen fundraised together, and raised about $12,000, almost doubling their goal. Eggen said most of the money was raised through direct donations, and a guest bartender night at The Hardware Store Restaurant helped as well.
“I really want to thank islanders; they were very helpful,” Eggen said. “I would say about half of the money came from them.”
Eggen had never done any technical climbing before she began training for this trip, she said. The Climb for Clean Air program offers an optional training program that takes place in the months leading up to the climb. Eggen said this program has been immensely helpful.
“The participants have been wonderful,” Eggen said. “Now I’ll be climbing with people I know and really care about.”
As part of the training program, Eggen and the others have done a number of hikes on all types of terrain. Eggen has now been to Camp Muir, the base camp for the Mount Rainier climb, four times, she said.
Although the training program has prepared her in many ways, Eggen is still somewhat nervous about the climb.
“I hear you start feeling really bad at some point; I’m worried about that,” said Eggen. “But I figure they wouldn’t take us up if we couldn’t get the hang of it, so I think it will be fine.”
Eggen plans to summit the mountain, and although she wished Emery could have been by her side, she said she is looking forward to taking on this challenge with others she has gotten to know.
“It really feels good to be pushing myself physically to do something that is outside my comfort zone,” she said.
