For a dozen years, Jody Thompson's life has been jam-packed with heady feats of athleticism, including ice climbing, alpinism and biking. She's led ice climbs in Canada and captained victorious all-female teams in grueling 24-hour mountain bike races.
"Probably my biggest accomplishment," she says, "is giving birth to my son and, despite the enormous hardship caused by his early arrival, being able to raise him and return to biking, ice climbing and skiing within six months."
Baby Hans was born three months premature, weighing only 1½ pounds. At just over a year old, he now is robustly healthy, tipping the scale at 16 pounds. Having suffered from a life-threatening condition during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia with Hellp syndrome), his mother has recovered to the point where she feels able to summit the world's highest mountain.
In terms of Thompson's accomplishments, Everest will rank second only to Hans: "It's been my dream to do Mount Everest," she says.
Thompson heard about the expedition from a friend of a friend.
"I said, 'What? I have a child,'" Thompson remembers. "My husband urged me to look into it. It's been my life. I love to climb. I know I have a child now, but I also have the skills, ability and judgment to turn around if there are risks. So I applied."
Thompson has a "100-percent supportive husband," she says, "and hallelujah for that!" She's secure with the knowledge that she also has dependable child care in place. A neighbor, who just so happens to be a full-fledged nanny, will be caring for Hans while his mother is trekking in the Himalayas.
"I'm sure I'm going to have some occasional times when I'll be missing my family," Thompson says. "If my son was old enough to understand, I'm hoping he'd be proud of me. I'm hoping I'm teaching him to be courageous and curious."
