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How Getting Diagnosed with Breast Cancer Motivated Lisa Thompson to Climb the Seven Summits
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Being a woman isn’t easy, period. But being a woman who climbed the high points of all seven continents fresh after a cancer diagnosis? We’ve got a lot to learn from Lisa.
Lisa Thompson ventured into mountaineering after overhearing others’ adventures in her corporate office. She was climbing globally and had eyes on some of the world’s highest mountains when breast cancer entered the scene, shifting her priorities and mindset as she continued to climb.
Lisa empowers women in mountain exploration through philanthropic climbs and through her coaching at Alpine Athletics. Her fantastic memoir, Finding Elevation: Fear and Courage on the World’s Most Deadly Mountain illustrates how she became the woman she is.
We talk about…
- Starting mountaineering in her late 30’s after not having an athletic background and wanting to prove to others that she was capable
- The journey of a breast cancer diagnosis at 42 years old, which she now views as a positive impact on her life
- Shaking up her life quickly: diagnosis, a divorce, pets’ deaths, and selling almost everything she owned to focus on climbing
- How mountains and cancer taught her boundaries, values and how to listen to her body
- A double mastectomy and going to climb Manaslu in Nepal months later, then deciding to climb Everest, and eventually all Seven Summits
- Becoming the second American woman to stand atop K2 (and what it means to be second)
- Currently focusing on all-women’s expeditions all over the world, and hiring Nepalese women who have lost their partners while raising money for girls’ education in Nepal
- Being a woman on a male-dominated team on Everest: inconveniences, expectations, and standing up for herself turning into no longer hiding her femininity or putting up with sexist jokes
- Problematic words society uses: “conquering” mountains, “battling” cancer
- Lisa’s process for studying and preparing for a new climb and how different mountains have different personalities
How to connect with Lisa:
- Lisa on IG: https://www.instagram.com/lisaclimbs
- Lisa’s website: https://lisaclimbs.com
- Lisa’s memoir, Finding Elevation: https://findingelevation.com/
- Train with Lisa: https://alpineathletics.net
👋How to connect with Jeni and Angie:
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For full show notes and more: https://fortheloveofpod.com
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