Betsy Huelskamp, a columnist with WomenRidersNow.com, is on her way to attempting to summit Mt. Everest as part of an expedition team to be filmed by Discovery Channel. Last we reported, Betsy was seeking donations in an effort to raise the funds to pay for her part in an expedition that is being shot for Discovery Channels second installment of “Everest: Beyond the Limit.”
A few days before the deadline, Betsy raised the necessary funds to secure her spot on Team Himex, the expedition team led by renowned climbing leader Russell Brice. “The people who love me stepped forward in my life to turn this dream into a reality,” wrote Betsy from the plane ride to Kathmandu. “Even people who had just heard my story stepped out on a leap of faith to help. From $20 donations to sponsors for my insanely expensive gear, it came together one step at a time which is exactly my plan for each of the next 75 days: one step at a time, one foot in front of the other.”
On April 13, WRN Editor Genevieve Schmitt received an email from Betsy, who was writing from base camp. Betsy had planned to dispatch blogs from base camp but found out its prohibitively expensive to log onto the Internet via satellite there, so until we hear otherwise, well have to keep up with her and Team Himexs adventures on Everest through a blog posted on Discovery Channels Web site.
Discovery.com hired journalist and photographer Greg Child to accompany the team for the sole purpose of dispatching blogs and photos. His April 13 posting contains two photos of Betsy taken during the bus ride to base camp.