News
She'll climb the tallest peak in Idaho -- 12,662 feet -- to help raise awareness and funds for Alpha-1 research
Cathy Valenti will set out Saturday morning, July 25, on a seven-mile round trip climb up Mount Borah, to help raise awareness and funds for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
Mount Borah is the tallest peak in Idaho. Its trail begins at 7,200 feet and climbs another 5,500 feet, making its highest peak an estimated 12,662 ft – and it does so in just 3.5 miles, averaging a steep 30 percent grade. Cathy, a lung-affected Alpha, says many people with no lung problems at all get short of breath at that altitude.
Perhaps the hardest part of the climb will be the scrambling—meaning free climbing using the hands to ascend a rocky ledge, rather than a climbing tool. And Valenti will have to do this toward the end of her climb when she reaches the famous “Chicken Out Ridge” and again as she climbs back down.
Cathy Valenti, mountain climber
“It’s called Chicken Out Ridge because everyone turns back there. I’m just going to scramble, I’m not going to look down and I’m going to make it. Even if I have to get on my hands and knees,” she said.
Valenti has been running the foothills throughout her neighborhood to prepare for the climb. There’s also a ski resort that is about 7,000 feet high – just a little less than the beginning of the trailhead at Mount Borah. She’s climbed in that area a few times to get her body used to the elevation.
“It’s all about drawing attention to Alpha-1, and encouraging and motivating others to take it to the next level,” she said.
If you’d like to cheer on Cathy in her climb, visit her Firstgiving page
