Climbing the Seven Summits with MS...

About Wendy's Mission...

Wendy Booker is a woman on a mission. She aims to climb the Seven Summits of the World. She is unique from other climbers with a similar goal. Why? She is a 53 year old woman suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.

When first diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1998, Wendy was initially devastated. It took very little time for her to transform anguish into inspiration. She immediately turned her hobby of casual running into a continuous pursuit and has now completed nine marathons.Although her doctors discouraged the idea, concerned that it would worsen her symptoms, she decided to continue for her sanity. Staying active was her way of coping and accepting her condition.

Mountain climbing became the next conquest. Wendy learned about a team of mountain climbers with Multiple Sclerosis who were attempting to climb Mt. McKinley (Denali) in Alaska. With no previous climbing experience, she dedicated a year to hard training and set off with them in 2002. Although weather conditions prohibited the team from completing, Wendy attempted the summit again in 2004 and she succeeded!

The feeling of accomplishment she experienced propelled her next aspiration: to climb the highest mountain on each continent. Just four years later, Wendy Booker has successfully reached the top ofsix of The Seven Summits – Kilimanjaro, Denali, Mt. Elbrus, Mt. Aconcagua, Mt. Vinson Massif and Mt. Kosciuszko – the first person with MS to do so. Mt. Everest looms large for 2009.

Her passion, strength and tenacity are garnering attention from the national press. Recently, Wendy has been featured in National Geographic Extreme Explorer, Women's Magazine, MORE, Prevention, the Boston Herald, the Boston Globe, Masters Athlete, a Chevy ad and countless regional publications. Corporate sponsors are offering gear, funds and support for her quest. Her career has evolved from interior design to motivational speaking, and she now travels the globe inspiring other people facing adversity to scale new heights. Wendy always says, “I want others with a chronic illness to go find their own mountains.”

She has made this mission her life goal, and by telling her story she hopes to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis, inspire those who are suffering and raise funds to find a cure.

“I have a chronic illness, but it’s been more like an epiphany.” Wendy Booker

more about Wendy Booker...