IMG_0418 Seven-year Burien resident Carol Roll has spent the last 10 days outside Mexico City climbing two of North America’s tallest mountains – Iztaccihuatl (17,343 ft) and El Pico de Orizaba (18,490 ft). Her team of 10 climbers was successful in summitting both peaks on Oct. 27 and Nov. 1. Roll and her the team of climbers first attempted Izta – also known as “The Sleeping Lady” – Mexico’s third tallest peak. While a straightforward route to the summit via the “Ridge of the Sun” route, the altitude adjustment was challenging for all the climbers. At the summit they were greeted with views of a small eruption from the nearby “Popo” volcano (Popocatépetl). IMG_0345 El Pico de Orizaba was the team’s next target via the Jamapa glacier/Espinosa route. They faced steep and icy slopes but a good weather window allowed them to reach the volcanoes’ summit. Orizaba is the tallest volcano in all of North America and the 3rd tallest mountain in North America. Roll trained for the climbs at Burien’s Highline Athletic Club. She also enjoyed local training hikes to nearby Granite Mountain, Camp Muir and the Tiger Mountain Cable Line Trail to get in top shape and prepare for the climb. This is Roll’s 7th time climbing mountains for Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Climb to Fight Breast Cancer. In the past she has climbed Rainier, Shasta and Kilimanjaro to support breast cancer research. This year, she raised over $9,000 this year to fund breast cancer research at the Hutch. Here’s a video recap of her climb: [youtube]http://youtu.be/-T6oLzgKhnI[/youtube] And some photos: IMG_0419 IMG_0380 IMG_0785 IMG_0778 IMG_0781 IMG_0918 IMG_0915 To find out more about her adventure visit http://getinvolved.fhcrc.org/goto/carolroll To read our previous stories about Carol’s previous climbing exploits, click here.]]>

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