On January 25th, 70 mph winds and wind chills of minus 50 degrees kept Daniel Wekselblatt from reaching the summit of Mt. Washington. Wekselblatt, who is a crew member of NBC's Saturday Night Live, attempted to scale the 6288 foot New Hampshire peak for the second year as part of his Climb for a Cure, an organization which raises research money for breast cancer and Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS.)
Although Wekselblatt didn't make it to the top, he did manage to raise $8100, which was split between the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the NY Chapter of the ALS Association. The checks were presented during a breakfast ceremony at NBC's legendary Studio 8H, home of Saturday Night Live.
Not one to be defeated by hurricane force winds and bitter cold, Wekselblatt says he has a personal score to settle with Mt. Washington and will try again to reach the summit on March 7th.
For more infomation, visit the Climb for a Cure website at http://www.climb-for-a-cure.org
If you would like to donate, please make your check payable to Climb For A Cure, and send it to; NBC Federal Credit Union, Climb For A Cure, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, NYC, New York 10112.
(Original Story)
For the second year, a team of four has climbed Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, the most difficult one day climb in the U.S., to raise money for breast cancer and ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) research.
"Climb for a Cure," which took place on January 25th, was created by Daniel Wekselblatt, who is a crew member of NBC's Saturday Night Live.
"I have been with NBC for 11 years and have seen friends, family and co-workers who have been afflicted with these diseases I felt frustrated and helpless. My need to do something and the fact that I love a great challenge, caused me to create Climb For A Cure."
Fighting a wind chill of -50 degrees, the team made it to the base camp of Mt. Washington but were kept from reaching the summit by fierce winds. During a cell phone call from the mountain, Wekselblatt said they climbed about 3/4 of the way to the top but were rebuffed by sustained winds of 70 MPH. "It wasn't the cold. We could not stand up in the wind. Our back-packs acted like sails blowing us down". During thier decent, they joined a group of rescue workers looking for two other climbers were reported missing earlier in the day.
Wekselblatt, who has climbed all the highest peaks in North America says while Mt. Washington stands at 6288 feet, conditions in winter equal that of mountains 20 thousand feet or higher. Wekselblatt, making his 9th winter trek to Mt. Washington was joined by Michael Lang, going for his 4th winter climb, Capt. Gary Connelly, FDNY, going for his 2nd winter climb and Kyra Kverno; the team photographer.
(PHOTO: Daniel Wekselblatt with flag on the summit of Mt. Washington during last year's Climb for a Cure.)