22,841 Feet of Hope, Mt. Aconcagua: The 1995 Breast Cancer Climb Story

Thirty years ago, on February 4, 1995 three Breast Cancer survivors stood on the summit of Mt. Aconcagua at 22,841’. The purpose of the climb was to raise awareness, research funds and hope for the breast cancer cause.  One of the three breast cancer survivors to reach the summit is Nancy Knoble who will share a PBS documentary made of this historic event at our Tuesday talk February 4, 2025.

Please join us at noon for this hour-long documentary film.

Free and open to the public. 

Light refreshment provided.  

Donations welcome. 

Additional Background:

In 1990, Laura Evans ended her 7th week in isolation during a bone marrow transplant to fight Stage III breast cancer. During her isolation, she dreamed of combining her two passions: mountain climbing and finding a cure for breast cancer. She imagined a team of breast cancer survivors and their supporters overcoming the challenges of mountain climbing together to bring awareness and financial support to finding a cure for breast cancer. It would be a visible tribute to the courage of breast cancer survivors everywhere. To Laura, there was no more appropriate parallel between summiting one of the world’s tallest peaks and fighting breast cancer.

After recovery, Laura’s dreams turned to action as she founded Expedition Inspiration Fund for Breast Cancer Research in 1995 with Peter Whittaker. Laura set out to climb Argentina’s Mt. Aconcagua. At 22,841 feet, Mt. Aconcagua is the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere. In February 1995, Laura and Peter Whittaker, premier international mountain guide and founder of Summits Adventure Travel, led a team of 17 breast cancer survivors to Aconcagua’s summit. They raised awareness, research funds and hope for the breast cancer cause.

From this initial effort, Expedition Inspiration has continued its mission to find breast cancer cures in our lifetime with hikes, climbs, an Annual Symposium, Young Investigator Awards and other fundraising events.

To date, Expedition Inspiration as awarded over $2 million  in Breast Cancer research.