Created to follow Laura's efforts as she climbed Mount Elbrus in Russia to benefit METAvivor! Over $7000 was raised.
In August 2014, Laura Westfall attempted to summit Mount Elbrus (18,510ft/5,642m). Mount Elbrus, located in the Caucasus mountain range in Russia, is the tallest mountain in Europe. Laura has previously summitted Mount Kilimanjaro (19,341'), the tallest mountain in Africa, and Aconcagua (22,902'), the tallest mountain in South America. Laura climbed in honor of her mother, Barbara Westfall, who wa
s diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in July 2011. While training that fall for her Aconcagua climb, Laura was often struck by the parallels between her mountain climbs and her mother's fight against MBC. "It seemed to me that climbing a mountain and fighting MBC had a lot in common. Both require a person to take a 'day-by-day', 'step-by-step' approach to life--taking one step at a time, both in climbing and in treatment, can keep you from getting overwhelmed by the 'bigger picture.' Both are battles to endure, not sprints to the finish line. And both require a huge amount of faith, teamwork, and encouragement," Laura says. "I can't fight my mom's battle against MBC for her, just like no one can climb a mountain for me--but I'm hoping that my commitment to train hard and summit Mount Elbrus will show my mom just how much I value and appreciate her commitment to live the best life she can with MBC." Laura encourages her family and friends to show their support for her climb, and for her mother's continued fight against MBC, by making a donation to METAvivor. Since Laura funded her own climbing expenses, 100% of every donation went directly to METAvivor.
