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2007 AspiringTeam Members: Some of the 2007 Aspiring Team Members were also part of the 1997 Cancer Survivors on McKinley Climbing Team. Scott Darsney:
 Darsney is the real McCoy, a hard-bitten climber and world traveler based in the remote Aleutian Island town of Dutch Harbor. When he’s not crisscrossing the chain in float planes, he’s riding across a Mongolian plain on horseback, looking for first ascents, climbing in Nepal, or his beloved Alaskan mountains. Among many other things, Scott is a photographer. Scott’s website address is : http://classic.mountainzone.com/photo/darsney Scott guided the Cancer Survivor group up Denali with Caitlin and Colby in 1997. Jorie Schwarten:
 Jorie lives in Haines, Alaska where she manages an inn and works as a swim instructor. Among several friends and relatives of hers who have battled cancer is her father, a survivor since 2004. Having been witness to the effect of cancer in so many lives, Jorie is sensitive to the need for support and encouragement during treatment; she feels particularly strong about encouraging and enabling adventure as a part of the healing process. A few of Jorie's own favorite adventures include world travel, backcountry snowboarding, and hiking and climbing around Haines. She will be pursuing a number of different climbing experiences prior to the climb on Aspiring. Jamie Montgomery:
 Jamie is a senior at Boise State University. She was diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer in the summer of 2004. She plans on completing her degree at Boise State and attending graduate school for Pharmacy. Jamie was raised in Kenai, Alaska. She was a student of Bob Summer’s and is also a family friend. Jamie will be pursuing a number of climbing endeavors prior to the Aspiring climb. Jessica Summer:
 Currently a nursing student at the University of Virginia, Jessica was "Alaska Grown" - born and raised in Alaska. A commercial fisherman in the summer, Jessica has been running around the mountains of Alaska since a child. With much experience with cancer within her family, she hopes to be able to make a difference in peoples' lives through her future profession. She will graduate in 2009 with a BSN and a minor in bioethics, and then hopes to serve in the Peace Corps for two years before returning to Alaska. TJ Hancock: 
TJ was born in Washington and raised in Alaska, the land that he loves. TJ is beginning his senior year at University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He just completed his first fire season in Alaska on the North Star Crew and was asked to join the Chena Hot Shot Crew and is currently in the lower 48 fighting wild land fires in Idaho and Wyoming. His first fire as a Hot Shot was at 10,000 feet. TJ has experienced cancer through his loved ones, losing a 17-year-old cousin after several years of fighting the battle. His Grandpa is a survivor of pancreatic cancer and most recently his Grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer and has completed her radiation treatment with positive results. TJ is a young man of few words and loves the outdoors and living life to the fullest. Bob Summer:
An 8th grade History teacher in Kenai, Alaska, Bob Summer is fortunate enough to be the husband of Mary Ellen Summer and father of three incredible young women. Bob is also the coordinator of this second fund-raising climb. At the age of 23, Bob had surgery to remove a "highly malignant" Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He underwent several weeks of tests, more surgery and six weeks of radiation treatments. Now, at the age of 47, Summer has just completed 4 months of chemotherapy at the University of Washington Medical Center in 2004 to treat a rare form of cancer unrelated to the lymphoma 25 years ago. Bob sees this as another opportunity to organize a fund-raising climb. Having undergone chemo therapy himself during this bout with Burkitt’s Lymphoma, Summer truly understands the importance of leaving the hospital between treatments. Throughout his treatments, Summer has been most deeply affected by children facing cancer. During a discussion with a mother who had lost a son to cancer, Summer asked what the best thing was that happened to her son during his fight against cancer. Without hesitation, this parent mentioned the time her son spent at a cancer camp. She explained that at this camp her son was able to be out of the hospital and with other young people. The camp provided something as close to normalcy as they had experienced. Children could be children there. For a more detailed account you may want to look at this article that appeared in the local Alaskan Newspaper, on the Kenai Peninsula, The Peninsula Clarion. The financial objective is to raise money to pay for the tuition of children with cancer to attend these unique camps. By example, Cancer Survivors on Mount Aspiring intends to show young people there can be hope. The physical objective for December 2007 is the Northwest Ridge of Tititea/Mount Aspiring, in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Special Thanks to: Colby Coombs:
 Colby’s love for climbing and wilderness places led him to instruct mountaineering courses for NOLS Alaska at age nineteen, a year after he first climbed Denali. He guided his first McKinley climb in 1993 for Alaska-Denali Guiding. He and his wife Caitlin Palmer started AMS with the help of many friends in 1994. Coombs is a board member of The Ritt Kellogg Fund at Colorado College and a past board member of the AMGA (American Mountain Guides Association). He is author of Denali: A Climber's Guide and co-author with Mike Wood, Alaska: A Climber's Guide, published by the Mountaineers Press. He and Caitlin live in Talkeetna with their beautiful daughter Lisle Caroline Palmer-Coombs. They also live with their crazy Patterdale Terrier, Luke. Though Colby will not be on the mountain in New Zealand, he has been a long time supporter and key advisor for this climb. Caitlin and Colby were guides on the 1997 Cancer Survivors on Mt. McKinley climb while employed by Alaska Denali Guiding, then owned by Brian Okonek and Diane Okonek of Talkeetna, Alaska. Walter Murch:
A member of the 1997 Denali climb, Walter's cancer was a primarybrain tumor: astrocytoma grade 2. Walter has been a Climbing/Wilderness Instructor whose travels and adventures are too many to list here. Cam Pollock:
 A member of the 1997 Denali climb, Cam has been involved in the medical field for many years, and has had cancer touch his life a number of times. The Pollock family opened their home to Bob & Mary Ellen Summer during Bob's treatment in Seattle. Tamsin Sarich:
 Tamsin is an Obstetrical nurse at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. She will officially become a Family Nurse Practitioner in mid-June and plans to get a Master's of Public Health as well. This summer she plans to volunteer as an RN/provider at Camp Rainbow Gold in Ketchum, Idaho. As a 13 year old, Tamsin was diagnosed and treated for Hodgkins lymphoma. Tamsin was a member of the 1997 fund raising climb on Denali and her picture graces the spine cover and inside jacket cover of Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills, Edition 7. The photo, taken by Scott Darsney, is of Tamsin above Washburn's Thumb Denali's West Butress, Alaska. Pat Burns:
 Pat was a member of the 1997 climb on Denali. Pat has summitted Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro, as well as Denali. As a team member who has had a number of friends and relatives touched by cancer, Pat looks forward to the climb on Mount Aspiring.
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Team Members 2007 
Cancer Survivors on Mount Aspiring: 2007