Mount Everest
Someone I know is preparing to climb Mount Everest for the second time. Read her post here. You can follow her on FB too.

"Subject: A Collective Everest
Happy Everest Eve,

There are no more doors on the Everest Advent Calendar and the bags are packed. I have a few more loose ends to tie up in the morning and then time to jump on the plane for Nepal (via a few stops along the way). We arrive in Nepal Thursday morning and start trekking on Friday. Marian and I are starting in Phaplu and trekking up to Lukla where we will meet the rest of the team. I’ll begin daily updates from Nepal.

We had a fine send off on Signal Hill on Saturday. As Michelle, Natelle, and I pulled our tires up five times, we were joined by Jacinta who took on a tire for the first time. Lots of others came out to hike the hill once or three times, some drove up and honked, and one long time reader of my blog came out to meet and greet and even offered us a ride down. Mary and Michelle even delivered special drawings from Abigail, their daughter/granddaughter near the top of pull number four. Heather made her 200th climb of Signal Hill on Saturday–she’d passed up several fine weather days to reach her milestone climb on the special send-off day.

In all, I counted well over sixty Signal Hill ascents by the collective group. Some will know that sixty Signal Hills equal the height of Mount Everest so I thought it was pretty special that we achieved a collective Everest that day. After we finished our ten ascents, Earl and his mom were waiting at the top with a Vanilla Dip angel food cake (possibly even more of a religious experience than the donut version). Deb and Wilma joined us for the top out celebration. Thanks to Deb, Gail, Leslie, Bethany, Tina, et al who drove us down the hill in between repeats. Here’s a link to photos of the send-off:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=401008&id=509940550&l=473ed509d7

As I head off to my second climb of Mount Everest, I am well aware that my climb too has been and will be a collective effort. There are many people to thank now for their contributions to my training and fundraising efforts and there will be many people to thank when I return from the mountain especially the sherpa and western staff who will work so hard to make the climb possible.

So, I apologize in advance if I miss anyone–I know by naming names I am bound to leave someone out…

Thanks to:
• Oma for the inspiration and courage to go back
• Mom for the courage to go on
• Dad for his strength and belief in me
• Mike and Shawn for unwavering support
• Rayne and Xander for mermaids and astronauts
• Marian for kindling the fire of my dreams
• The Trekking Teams (Marian, Natelle, Nadia, Jacinta, & Leslie and Dan) for sharing the trail and the adventure
• Michelle and Phil for pushing me hard in training both with TRX’s and tires
• Janice at Core Insight for putting humpty dumpty together again and again (though no last minute injuries this time)
• Deborah and Wilma for being my first and foremost mentors and sponsors
• AppleCore Interactive for my website, sponsorship package, and school curriculum makeover
• RJG Construction for helping me have the tools I need
• Allied Health Services for assisting me in training hard and staying healthy (Amy, Holly, Mike, Todd)
• Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their support and for hosting a Vanilla Dip Day during the climb
• School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador for jumping on board late in the game
• And to the many of you who reached into your own pockets to donate, purchase books or toques to help me get to the mountain
• Colleagues and friends at the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation at Memorial University for helping me plan my training and for encouragement throughout
• Special thanks to Fabien Basset for his expertise in hypoxic training and Tim for watching over my training sessions
• and YOU who cheer me on, follow my adventures, and go after your own dreams whatever they may be.

Catch you next from Nepal!

With gratitude,

TA

PS: Ways and places to follow the expedition (bookmark these now so you can find them later)

TA’s Website: http://www.facebook.com/l/677f8;www.taloeffler.com (Updated daily)

TA’s Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=102972039777 (Updated daily)

My Everest: http://www.facebook.com/l/677f8;www.myeverest.com/ta (Updated daily-you can hear my voice!)

Peak Freaks Blog: http://www.facebook.com/l/677f8;www.peakfreaks.com/everestnews2010.htm#BLOG%20SPOT
(Updated daily)

Alan Arnette’s Everest Coverage: http://www.facebook.com/l/677f8;www.alanarnette.com/news/ (Alan covers all the expeditions north and south and he has an app for the I-Phone/I-touch to make it easy to follow along)

(If you received this via email, don’t fret updates will continue to be sent every three or four days!)"