October 1, 2010
kamalik@sbcglobal.net
Prostate Cancer Climb and Trek Expedition in Glacier National Park a Success
In August of 2010, seven men whose average age was 65, hiked over 40 miles and climbed over 10,000′ over the course of 5 days. Their goal was to inspire men and their families dealing with this epidemic disease with a message of hope. Prostate cancer will touch one in five families in the United States this year.
There have been nine prior Cancer Climbs for Prostate Awareness, including Mt Blanc, Mt Kilimanjaro, El Misti, Mt Elbert and Mt Cotopaxi. This year’s expedition to Glacier National Park was chosen because it was the 100th Anniversary of this isolated national park and our team wanted to see the glaciers before they all melt away by 2020. All of the men on this year’s expedition have been touched by prostate cancer in some way. Jim Cozad, Rick Mohovich and Ken Malik are all prostate cancer veterans of ten years or more. The other expedition members all have family members who have had prostate cancer. All of this year’s participants pride themselves in being in good shape for their age.
Glacier has a reputation for its abundance of animal life. The expedition members were not disappointed. They saw two dozen grizzly bears, moose, mountain goats, bald eagles and bighorn sheep while trekking along the Continental Divide. They visited mountain lakes with icebergs floating on the surface, passed a multitude of waterfalls and a profusion of magnificent wildflowers. One of the expedition highlights was a 16.5 mile, 10 1/2 hour summit of Swift Current Mountain. The climbers persevered through 50 mile per hour wind gusts at the summit to proudly unfurl the Cancer Climb for Prostate Awareness banner honoring all those afflicted with this epidemic disease.
The Prostate Awareness Foundation, the non-profit organization sponsoring the expedition would like to thank the climbers for their efforts and also everyone who participated with generous contributions to the foundation. PAF encourages men to take a proactive approach to dealing with prostate health.
Climbing Team by Upper Grinnell Lake