About Lei
I have never been far from a challenge, and even though they are usually painful, they have shaped and molded me into who I am today. Being born into a modest Chinese family in the province of Jiang Su during China's Cultural Revolution, I grew up with my grandparents while both my parents worked. It was a tough life, but also fun! We had very little to make do with, but I remember spending happy weekends catching fish, shrimp, cicadas and cooking them as my favorite snacks!
To Dream
When I was growing up, I dreamed of becoming a doctor, a writer, a scientist, a professor, but I never imagined anything athletic. When I decided to take a trip a few years ago to climb Mt. Cotopaxi and Mt. Kilimanjaro, I had not the slightest idea of what mountaineering was. Without much training, I barely survived the climb, but I was proud and surprised by what I had accomplished. Even then, I never gave it more thought beyond my natural curiosity and adventurous spirit.
Though I knew how weak I was when I climbed Cotopaxi and Kilimanjaro, I couldn’t stop the voice in my head saying, “I want to climb Everest”. Well, if I’m going to do Everest, why not do all 7 summits (the highest peak on each of the seven continents) then? I was shocked to find out that there are Korean women and Japanese women who have accomplished the 7 summits, but no Chinese women have done it. It would be nice to be the first Chinese woman on the 7 summits!
Once I made the decision, I immediately started researching the 7 summits. I learned that mountaineering is not just hiking; it requires many comprehensive skills including rock climbing, ice climbing, winter survival, wilderness survival, and technical competency in handling all sorts of gear. So I immediately started learning rock climbing, picked up ice climbing the following winter, and initiated a plan to learn all of the necessary technical skills during the following year.
The start of my journey
Once I started on this journey, I never stopped. My mind was always filled with all the ideas and plans for my training; my evenings and weekends are always filled with various sports activities. It appeared to friends who knew me before that I became a totally different person. I began to wonder what caused the change. It may appear that some random event inspired me and opened a new door for me. But deep in my heart, I felt that was just who I have always been. I started to recall my high school years when I used to enjoy hiking around in the suburban hills in search of plants for my botanical research projects, and the many weekends that I hiked Xiang Shan, a popular hill near Beijing, with my best friends. That was me, an energetic girl who loved nature and was never afraid of anything. It was the many years of college and graduate study that suppressed my “restless” nature and focused my mind on school and a traditional career. It was very relieving to realize that I actually just reverted back to the original me, instead of discovering a new me.
Who was I?
On the other hand, that realization also caused me to further puzzle about my life. I had just come out of an MBA program with heavy debt, and most of my classmates were working hard on traditional MBA-graduate career tracks. What am I doing here? Am I confusing a hobby with a passion? Am I escaping the real world just for fun? Is there anything wrong with me? It took me a long time through reading and discussing with other friends to finally convince myself that the most important thing was to follow my heart, instead of following the “normal” track. Pursuing a dream, even if I may fail, is better than not trying at all. Life only becomes full of life when you live it with passion. How do you have passion without a dream?
Training actually is a process of pushing the limit further out. When I was 20, the longest distance I ran was just about 1000 meters; now at mid 30s, I can easily keep my training at half marathon to full marathon intensity. Being short and small, I used to easily allow myself to fall behind others; now I take pride in competing in running and climbing, and ignoring the physical advantages of my competitors. On a mountaineering trip, everyone has to carry about the same load of gear and food. A 60 lb pack may be only 1/3 of a normal man’s body weight, but it is more than 50% of my weight. So I just have to be stronger! I was surprised to see myself continuously improving beyond my “limit”. There are no limits, physically or mentally!
To Dream
When I was growing up, I dreamed of becoming a doctor, a writer, a scientist, a professor, but I never imagined anything athletic. When I decided to take a trip a few years ago to climb Mt. Cotopaxi and Mt. Kilimanjaro, I had not the slightest idea of what mountaineering was. Without much training, I barely survived the climb, but I was proud and surprised by what I had accomplished. Even then, I never gave it more thought beyond my natural curiosity and adventurous spirit.
Though I knew how weak I was when I climbed Cotopaxi and Kilimanjaro, I couldn’t stop the voice in my head saying, “I want to climb Everest”. Well, if I’m going to do Everest, why not do all 7 summits (the highest peak on each of the seven continents) then? I was shocked to find out that there are Korean women and Japanese women who have accomplished the 7 summits, but no Chinese women have done it. It would be nice to be the first Chinese woman on the 7 summits!
Once I made the decision, I immediately started researching the 7 summits. I learned that mountaineering is not just hiking; it requires many comprehensive skills including rock climbing, ice climbing, winter survival, wilderness survival, and technical competency in handling all sorts of gear. So I immediately started learning rock climbing, picked up ice climbing the following winter, and initiated a plan to learn all of the necessary technical skills during the following year.
The start of my journey
Once I started on this journey, I never stopped. My mind was always filled with all the ideas and plans for my training; my evenings and weekends are always filled with various sports activities. It appeared to friends who knew me before that I became a totally different person. I began to wonder what caused the change. It may appear that some random event inspired me and opened a new door for me. But deep in my heart, I felt that was just who I have always been. I started to recall my high school years when I used to enjoy hiking around in the suburban hills in search of plants for my botanical research projects, and the many weekends that I hiked Xiang Shan, a popular hill near Beijing, with my best friends. That was me, an energetic girl who loved nature and was never afraid of anything. It was the many years of college and graduate study that suppressed my “restless” nature and focused my mind on school and a traditional career. It was very relieving to realize that I actually just reverted back to the original me, instead of discovering a new me.
Who was I?
On the other hand, that realization also caused me to further puzzle about my life. I had just come out of an MBA program with heavy debt, and most of my classmates were working hard on traditional MBA-graduate career tracks. What am I doing here? Am I confusing a hobby with a passion? Am I escaping the real world just for fun? Is there anything wrong with me? It took me a long time through reading and discussing with other friends to finally convince myself that the most important thing was to follow my heart, instead of following the “normal” track. Pursuing a dream, even if I may fail, is better than not trying at all. Life only becomes full of life when you live it with passion. How do you have passion without a dream?
Training actually is a process of pushing the limit further out. When I was 20, the longest distance I ran was just about 1000 meters; now at mid 30s, I can easily keep my training at half marathon to full marathon intensity. Being short and small, I used to easily allow myself to fall behind others; now I take pride in competing in running and climbing, and ignoring the physical advantages of my competitors. On a mountaineering trip, everyone has to carry about the same load of gear and food. A 60 lb pack may be only 1/3 of a normal man’s body weight, but it is more than 50% of my weight. So I just have to be stronger! I was surprised to see myself continuously improving beyond my “limit”. There are no limits, physically or mentally!
Epiphany!
An event in February 2004 changed my life. It was one of those pivotal moments that happen only in the movies!
I saw Touching the Void, a documentary movie about a first ascent of a peak in Peru that nearly ended in tragedy. Later in June, I watched another documentary, Women of K2, about women climbers who climbed the harshest mountains on the planet. The next day, I checked out every movie in the Boston Public Library on Everest and watched them all in one day. It was at that point that climbing all the highest peaks in each of the seven continents - the Seven Summits, would be my goal.
Giving back
As I immersed myself in my training, I looked around my community, I realized that people are more inhibited by mental limits than by physical limits. Through our upbringing, we are used to associating competitive sports with Olympic athletes, and believe that only a small, elite group who were born talented and trained since they were young can do it. We are used to believing that only very few special people can run a marathon. Mountain climbing is full of risk and is not for “normal” people. We were brought up to learn to live within our limits. Limits are limits and limits are not to be surpassed.
I was just a normal city girl who had no special talent, no special training, but just a strong will and a "never give up" spirit. If I can do it, you can do it.
I especially want to support more women to adopt the active life style, break through their limits, and pursue whatever dreams that their hearts take them to. I hope that my process of pursuing my 7summits dream will motivate more people, especially women, to pursue the adventure of their life!
As of 2009, I have now climbed six of the seven summits and skied to both the North Pole and South Pole. With only Mt. Everest left to do in March 2010, I am excited to becoming the first Chinese woman to accomplish this feat!
Love,
LEI WANG
I am one mountain away from finishing! Please support me by donating through Paypal! Your support is greatly appreciated! (click on image on left)
