Seminar 7: Nikki and Cheryl Bart, mountaineers
Who are these Women?
Cheryl and Nikki Bart are an adventurous pair of Australians who hope to climb their way into the history books by summitting Mount Everest in May this year (2008). It will be the final stage in their quest to climb the seven highest summits on the world’s seven continents, and, if successful, they will be the first mother-daughter team to achieve that feat.
The pair’s mountain climbing bug took hold during a trek in Nepal. The first of the seven summits was Kilimanjaro (Africa), followed by Elbrus (Russia) and Vinson Massif in Antarctica. The other summits in the set are McKinley - Denali (North America), Aconcagua (South America) and Kosciuszko in homeland Australia.
Part of the attraction climbing holds for Cheryl and Nikki is the tremendous sense of freedom and climbing’s spiritual dimension. The physical challenge is great, but the mental challenge is life changing.
Their preparation for Everest includes every one of the six peaks scaled so far.
What do They Do?
When not climbing (or skiing, snowboarding, heli-skiing or rock climbing), mother Cheryl’s busy life includes being a lawyer and chairman of the South Australian Film Corporation and the Adelaide Film Festival.
She also holds a number of non-executive Director roles, and is an ambassador for the Peres Centre for Peace. Cheryl also has a long-term commitment to pro bono and charitable activities.
Nikki, her daughter, is in her final year of medical school. As well, she co-chairs the Medical Student Aid Project, which donates medical equipment and pharmaceuticals to developing world hospitals, and is very involved in the leadership of the medical student council. Nikki is also involved in a number of volunteer programmes and charity work, and enjoys outdoor sports.
You can find out more about Nikki and Cheryl at http://www.bigpondeverest.com/index.html
What this Adventure Heroes Seminar will Cover
We’ll talk with Nikki and Cheryl about what makes climbing as a mother and daughter team special, and whether it changed their relationship in any way? Would they have taken on the seven summit challenge as individuals?
We’ll ask how they decided that they would take on such a huge challenge – what allowed them to see that they could achieve it, and how they set about making it happen.
We’ll ask about the critical moments and how these influenced their quest – scary times on Denali, frustrating times dealing with bureaucracy…
We’ll find out what it is that feeds their commitment to complete the quest. What do they tap into when it feels too hard, or when the other parts of their busy lives demand more time?
We’ll ask them if they have any specific techniques or tips for taking on and achieving such a big challenge.
And we’ll find out what’s next? And how they’re going to make that happen…
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