Youngest Canadian to Climb Seven Summits Raises $213,000 For Charity

Liz Rose has become the youngest Canadian to climb the Seven Summits and in so doing, raised  $213,000 so kids in palliative care can have adventures too.

In the space of a whirlwind 34 months, Liz Rose travelled from Africa to South America to the Himalayas to Antarctica to Russia to Alaska to Down Under in order to look down from the top of the highest peak on each of the seven continents. Last year, on November 3, 2017, at the age of 26, with 17 friends and family members in tow, she walked to the rooftop of Australia to finish her mission. She became the youngest Canadian to complete the Seven Summits, a feat fewer than 500 people have achieved since Richard Bass first did it in 1985. And she did it in the name of charity.

Tackling each peak taught Rose to live in the moment. “There are so many variables that are out of your control when you’re in the mountains—the weather, altitude sickness, getting hurt. So I tried to focus on the things that were in my control, which was staying mentally tough and positive.”

Staying tough and positive is something the residents, families, and caregivers of Canuck Place know all too well. Canuck Place in Vancouver operates two hospices and mobile clinical programs to provide pediatric palliative care for 715 infants and children from BC each year. Its recreation-therapy program aims to inject a bit of fun into the children’s days.

Until a younger Canadian manages to climb the Seven Summits, Rose will own that record—and she tells the story in her own words in her forthcoming book—but the more impactful legacy of her feat might be the $213,402 she raised during the process to help kids confronting life limits to get out, play, and have every moment count.