If the shoe fits...

I have yet to find a pair of boots that fit me properly for starters.  I have gone through every pair of boots for women sold at Adventure 16 and EMS Sporting Goods and the best boots I have discovered thus far are the Hi-Tec Banshee I purchased for $19.97 online at Campmor.  I am a salespersons nightmare when it comes to my feet.  My feet are nothing out of the ordinary, just problematic to fit and tough to prevent bruising due in-part to a high instep and the pounding they take.  This, however, does not stop me. 

I research my gear before purchasing for financial reasons as well as practicality, fit, ability to withstand stress, weight, versatility, and so on.  According to others, I am tough on gear as I leap rock to rock with a full pack on my back or scramble over boulders or squeeze through small spaces almost unnatural for the human body to pass.

In the few years that I have become a peak-bagging, mile-consuming junkie, I have summated Mt. Fuji, Mt. Whitney (winter & summer ascents) Mt. San Gorgonio (Extreme day & Weekend), Mt. San Jacinto, Mt. Baldy (winter ascent up the bowl), Palisades Glacier, King’s Canyon, Grand Canyon, sections of the Rockies, a few hundred miles on the PCT and the AT and more, all in preparation to challenge myself for Denali.  For the past year I have been researching mountaineering courses with RMI, AMS and others determined to rise to the next challenging step, Mt. Rainier clearly being thus.

I continuously strive to make a difference in this world.  I am an avid supporter of organizations such as the NRDC, Defenders of Wildlife, The Nature’s Conservancy, etc. and I am a member of The Outdoors Club, AMC, SAG, and AEA.  I have an interest in organizing a climb for charity whereby profits will go to raise awareness and protect our natural resources from further depletion and/or extinction.  I also work on films that gravitate towards humanistic causes which I further demonstrate my support by participating in marches, walks, and fundraising opportunities alike.

All of this said and done, I recently ordered a subscription to Backpacker magazine and received my first two issues as of yesterday and voila, there before my eyes was an opportunity staring me in the face to join you in accomplishing one of my said mentioned goals... to climb Mt. Ranier.  When?  


Copyright © 2009 Alyssa Polacsek, Lakota Films, LLC & Natural Child Blog