Mike Johnson grew up in Montana and was introduced to the outdoors at a very young age by his grandpa, who had a cabin outside of the Bob Marshall Wilderness area. He has fond memories of going there every summer, enjoying the simplicity of nature and the comfort of family.

His interest in the outdoors and all it’s adventures only grew when he moved to Colorado as a teenager. Since then, he has always been open to new experiences and particularly feels fortunate when he finds an opportunity that combines his enthusiasm for sports, his love of the outdoors and his thirst for adventure with a worthwhile cause.

Mike currently lives in Denver but feels most at home in the Mountains, no matter the season. He is always ready to head west for a hut trip, an Adventure race, any type of skiing, biking, lacrosse tournament, you name it! If there is something going on in the mountains, especially if it is for a cause, Mike is usually present.

While in Denver, he keeps himself busy as a volunteer youth lacrosse coach, volunteering on boards and running his own business, Eclipse Sign.

Although Mike has been fortunate to have good health, he has had dear friends and family members of loved ones struggle with cancer and its consequences. He has seen first hand how cancer affects the lives and relationships of not only those diagnosed, but the entire family and circle of friends. Often feeling powerless as he watched those he cared for deeply, struggle, he made a conscious decision to get involved when opportunities arose to make a difference.

Thus… his quest for Everest. It seems too perfect. An opportunity to get involved with a cause he feels strongly about…an opportunity to provide hope and raise awareness and an opportunity to challenge himself in yet another outdoor adventure.

Stephanie was born and raised in Pennsylvania and lived there until she completed college, where she was an Exercise and Sports Science major at Ursinus College. After moving to North Carolina, Maryland, and traveling throughout Western Europe, something was beckoning her to move west and soon she found herself living in Boulder, Colorado. On a previous trip to Switzerland Stephanie had fallen in love with the mountains and found that love again in Colorado. Stephanie always loved staying active, and she found a very active lifestyle in Colorado. After living in Boulder for a few years, she spent a season living in Vail where her affinity for skiing grew and her appreciation for the mountains flourished. She now resides in the Denver Metro area but escapes to the mountains as often as possible. She stays active by running, biking, swimming (she did her first triathlon at 31, the Danskin, which raises money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation), lifting weights, skiing, snowshoeing, and hiking. In addition to getting outdoors as much as possible, she enjoys spending time with friends, reading, giving and receiving massages, cooking and traveling.

Stephanie was first introduced to the ravages of cancer through her maternal grandfather. He came to live with her family when she was seven years old, so that he could receive treatment for lymphoma at nearby Hershey Medical Center. Stephanie and her grandfather became very close during the time he was living with her family and it was a devastating loss to her when he lost his battle to cancer five years later. Then at the age of fourteen, Stephanie again lost someone who had significant meaning in her life. Her mother’s best friend and their next-door neighbor (who was like a second mother to Stephanie as a child) developed breast cancer, which later spread to the brain, lungs and bones. She also lost the battle to cancer five years after being diagnosed. She was only forty-five and left behind a husband and six daughters. The effects of cancer did not stop there though. Stephanie also lost her paternal grandfather to lung and liver cancer, and has supported many close friends as they too experienced loss of family members due to this disease.
Stephanie was a full time massage therapist for seven years and within that time she volunteered at the Boulder Community Hospital on the oncology floor giving massages to those with cancer, and in her private practice treated those recovering from breast cancer and mastectomy. She now works as a media consultant for Yellow Book and is an IPC for Tahitian Noni International; and since she loves helping people she still uses her healing abilities by treating those in need with massage in her “spare” time.

Stephanie feels very blessed to be a part of this team and knows it is through foundations such as this that one day a cure WILL be found!