HAILEY, Idaho — During a weekend getaway in the summer of 2024, women from around the country gathered in Hailey, Idaho, for a challenging adventure they said parallels their life stories.
“I just felt like cancer was just kind of like climbing a mountain,” breast cancer survivor Annie Blide said.
When she was going through treatment, Blide, who is a two-time cancer survivor, said some things seemed impossible.
Climbing Mt. Hyndman, Idaho’s 9th tallest peak, was probably on that list of impossible things.
Now four and a half years cancer-free, Blide was one of nearly a dozen survivors who made the challenging trek with local breast cancer advocacy nonprofit Expedition Inspiration.
The nonprofit has put dozens of treks together over the last three decades; this was the first since the pandemic.
“It’s just meant the world to me,” Blide said. “This is a special trip with special women that are in all phases of their cancer journey, their survivorship is just profound.
"It’s really empowering.”
PREPARATION
Sign-ups happened months in advance. To prepare, some of the women who live in and around Boise met every Monday evening for various mindfulness movement sessions, said Hailey Malepeai, Expedition Inspiration executive director.
Also, for the first time, everyone came early for the trip to reflect on their hard-fought journeys and prepare for the miles ahead.
They spent roughly a day and a half at an Airbnb before the hike. The group cooked food together, went thrifting, did yoga and soaked up the views. Several board members also joined.
KTVB drove to Hailey for one of the days to get to know the group and hear some of their stories.
THEIR CANCER BATTLES
Blide, who lives in Wisconsin, loves the mountains. In addition to climbing Kilimanjaro, the 63-year-old’s adventurous spirit has taken her to the mountains of Bhutan in Asia, India and Colorado.
“Once you get that diagnosis that sets you back on your feet … you're a healthy person; you try to live healthy," she said. "So, at first, it was a real shock to myself and my family.”
But, when she thought about it, Blide said her diagnosis in 2016 was not that big of a surprise. Both her parents lost their battles to cancer, and her older sister is a survivor.
After going through treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019.
Blide said she approached her diagnoses like climbing a mountain, one step at a time — because after all, cancer is about living.
“People won’t believe this, but in many ways, [cancer] is a gift,” she said. “Because you start to not take things for granted. You don’t get mad at traffic, and you really try not to let the small things get to you because today is just such a gift.”
Like Blide, Katie Anchustegui, 38, was also diagnosed twice. She was cancer-free for five years when she went on her first trip with Expedition Inspiration to the Grand Tetons in 2019.
But earlier this year, at 35 weeks pregnant with her second child, she received bad news.
“I was diagnosed on a Monday, was induced on Sunday and started chemo two weeks after that,” Anchustegui said. “There were a lot of struggles. I had all these worries about my health, but then had a new baby and a toddler at home. They were my motivation.”
Half a year later, she is cancer-free again, hiking one of Idaho’s 12ers (The nine peaks in Idaho taller than 12,000 feet) with a group of women who understand one another even though some had never met before.
“Here I am, again, just trying to prove to myself that I can do it,” she said, “and to have my friends and family support me and send me up here with their well wishes has been pretty incredible.”
CLIMB FOR A CURE
Expedition Inspiration encourages the women to raise money for cancer research — aptly calling the trip “Climb for a Cure.” They brought in more than $20,000.
Malepeai said the money goes to young scientists at the beginning of their career trying to save lives through their research.
“You’re raising money to find new treatments, and that’s pretty powerful,” Anchustegui said.
THE HIKE
After an early wakeup call one Saturday in late June, the women were off, wanting to conquer the mountain not just for themselves but also for others.
Anchustegui and most of the other women carried prayer flags up the mountain with them — colorful pieces of fabric covered with positive affirmations and the names of their loved ones who stuck by their side when life got tough.
In the videos captured by some of the women, they are laughing, admiring the views, bandaging blisters and encouraging one another.
“We will be celebrating every single step that these ladies take, whether it's making it to the summit or just making it to the trailhead tomorrow,” Malepeai said.
All of the climbers made it 10,000 feet up, including Trisha Beukelman, who said while beaming in a video, “I’m so proud of myself. One year ago, I was doing IV chemo[therapy] in the thick of it; no hair, super bloated. It’s crazy, a year later, I did it; I did this.”
More than half made it all the way to 12,000 feet, including Blide and Anchustegui. They posed at the summit with the others, waving an Expedition Inspiration flag in the wind while hooting and hollering.
“You build these bonds with these women, and having them here, it just kind of fills your cup but also helps to kind of fuel you to like, alright, I'm gonna do this with these girls, and I know that I can lean on them and when you know, the mountain feels hard, they're gonna be there to encourage me and push me up,” Anchustegui said.
Blide teared up while talking about what the climb means to her.
“When I'm on top, for my parents, I just wish they could have had something like this,” she said. “It's really special to be here, and I’m so grateful. “
WHAT’S NEXT
Malepeai said Expedition Inspiration plans on climbing again next spring. Although they have climbed many times out of state, including on the East Coast, Washington, California, and South America, they will stay in Idaho— the location is TBD.
People who are interested should reach out. Donations are open year-round.