Friday, September 12, 2008

They climbed every mountain

Five Peaks in Five Years Series concludes but will live on

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By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

Expedition Inspiration Board Member Nancy Knoble flies Tribute Flags on the summit of Borah Peak. Photo by

The Expedition Inspiration Fund for Breast Cancer Research sent a team of hardy adventurers up Idaho's highest peak, 12,668-foot Mt. Borah, on Saturday, Aug. 23. This is the final year of the Five Peaks Series, accomplished by teams of breast cancer survivors along with friends and family of those who continue to fight the disease.

Conceived by Expedition Inspiration advisory board member Courtney Kapp, the Five Peaks in Five Years Series has raised more than $40,000 in support of cutting-edge breast cancer research projects. Kapp and members of her family have summited all five peaks: Thompson Peak, Hyndman Peak, Castle Peak, Ryan Peak and Mt. Borah.

Climbing team member Ranney Draper hosted the climbing and support teams overnight along the Big Lost River. The next morning, Sawtooth Mountain Guides led the team across Chicken Out Ridge and to the summit of Idaho's highest point.

The Borah Peak Team later celebrated with a dinner at Ketchum's Rotary Park, underwritten by Mountain West Bank of Ketchum.

Plans are underway for the next climb series to start in 2009.

Breast cancer survivor and climber Laura Evans founded the Expedition Inspiration Fund for Breast Cancer Research in 1993. The organization seeks to raise both awareness of the disease and funds for research, as well as to educate and support those affected.

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Each year the non-profit organization hosts the Laura Evans Memorial Breast Cancer Symposium, attended by some of the country's foremost breast cancer oncologists and researchers, in Sun Valley.

Evans' motto—adopted by Expedition Inspiration—was "Until there's a cure, there's a climb."