I have Stage 2 COPD and have struggled with lung disease since I was 5 years old. In 2010, I was 240 pounds and could barely walk up a short flight of stairs without becoming breathless.
Today, driven by a focus on fitness and nutrition, I am 45 pounds lighter, I still have only 60% of my predicted lung capacity for a male my age and size, and I climb mountains. Big mountains. In 2012, I climbed Mt. Athabasca, one of the more beautiful mountains in the Canadian Rockies. In 2013, I again climbed Mt. Athabasca via the technically and endurance demanding North Face East Ridge Bypass route.
In September 2014, I will climb Mt. Robson, the most prominent mountain in North America's Rocky Mountain range and also the highest point in the Canadian Rockies. The very sight of Mt. Robson is enough to knock you off your feet. Not only do its sheer and intimidating faces dominate everything around it, the pyramid shaped monolith is plastered with jagged ice, carved by severe winds into the infamous and gigantic “gargoyles” that guard the main summit block. On top of that, its lower flanks are draped with gnarly and dramatic glaciers riddled with crevasses and ice-fall. There is no easy way up this mountain, which is why it is one of Canada’s most prized and least attempted summits in North America.
While climbing Mt. Robson is a personal goal, I also believe in helping the Lung Disease community. I have a huge belief in the power of fitness and nutrition to improve the quality of life for people suffering with Lung Disease. I am using my climb as an opportunity to work with the Lung Association to not only raise awareness of the importance of fitness and nutrition, but also to raise money to support a pilot fitness and nutrition program targeting youth with lung disease.
Ian has raised more than $16,000 for the Manitoba Lung Association.
