All-Women's Mt. Baker Climbing Team Helps Battle Cancer

Elite mountaineering guide company, Mountain Madness, leads climbing team to support women on their healing journey from cancer.

Mt. Baker All-Women's Team / Mountain Madness

Mountain Madness All-Women's Mt. Baker Climb

Mountain Madness is an elite mountaineering guide service and school located in Seattle Washington. Mountain Madness focuses on guiding the renowned Seven Summits, the highest peak on each of the seven continents, and other prominent mountains throughout the world. They also guide coveted volcanoes in the Cascade Mountain Range in the Pacific Northwest, including Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker. Mountain Madness was founded in 1984 by Scott Fischer and Wes Krause. ‘Mountain Madness began with Scott Fischer’s dream to create a community of like-minded souls driven by a passion for mountain exploration - to connect people with adventure – and turn their dreams into reality.’ (Mountain Madness website)

Though Scott died during the horrific storm on Mt. Everest in 1996, detailed in Jon Krakauer’s book ‘Into Thin Air’, his vision lives on today in the soul of the company he created. Such soul and vision led the Mountain Madness team to create the ‘All Women Mt. Baker Climb’ to benefit women being treated for breast or gynecologic cancer in the Puget Sound Region. For this project, Mountain Madness partnered with Northwest Hope & Healing.

Mt. Baker Summit / Dave Wieck

The All-Women's Mt. Baker Team

The All-Women team recently took on Mt. Baker for this fabulous effort to benefit women in need. Mt. Baker, known as Koma Kulshan to the Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest, is a prominent peak located in the North Cascades of Washington State, USA. Rising to an elevation of 10,781 ft., Mt. Baker is the third-highest mountain in the state and one of the snowiest places on Earth.

Mount Bak­er offers a wonderful alpine ascent on one of North America’s most sought ‑after peaks. Also referred to as the ​“Great White Watch­er,” by the Lum­mi Indi­ans, Mount Bak­er is the high­est and most heav­i­ly glaciat­ed peak in the North Cas­cades. The Mountain Madness route for the Women’s climb ascends the Eas­t­on Glac­i­er, a chal­leng­ing route surrounded by ice­falls, ser­acs, and large crevass­es. Their route provides magnificent views of the North Cas­cades, Mount Rainier to the south and the allur­ing San Juan Islands to the west. To prepare for the All-Women’s Climb, Mountain Madness partnered with Lisa Thompson, founder and owner of Alpine Athletics.

Northwest Health & Wellness

Northwest Health & Healing provides immediate assistance, community, and ongoing support for women on their cancer healing journey. Their Patient Assistance Fund provides assistance for essentials such as child care, groceries, reliable transportation, and emergency rent. Northwest Hope & Healing is the only organization in Seattle that provides direct, immediate assistance to breast and gynecologic cancer patients. No long forms, no waiting period. Swedish Cancer Institute distributes 100% of the funds contributed by Northwest Hope & Healing to the Patient Assistance Fund.

Lisa Thompson - Alpine Athletics

Lisa Thompson knows how to prepare for climbing big mountains. She has summited both K2 and Mt. Everest, and has created a world-class company focused on preparing adventurers to succeed in their climbing pursuits. “We’re part­ner­ing with local Seat­tle moun­tain coach, Lisa Thomp­son to cre­ate two all-women’s Bak­er teams this year. Because prepa­ra­tion is so crit­i­cal for any moun­tain endeav­or, we are includ­ing customized coaching from Lisa, and Alpine Ath­let­ics. She will help team members pre­pare phys­i­cal­ly and men­tal­ly for the chal­lenge of Mount Bak­er and join us on the moun­tain.”

Congratulations to the Mountain Madness All-Women’s Mt. Baker Climbing Team for their successful summit, and for benefiting and supporting Northwest Health & Healing. And thanks to Lisa Thompson for the expert team preparation in taking on iconic Mt. Baker.