61-year-old climber to share her tales in Kennewick

KENNEWICK — Kay LeClaire achieved mountaineering history last year, but she's nowhere near ready to put away her pitons or toss her running shoes.

LeClaire summited Mount Everest in 2009, fulfilling her goal of climbing the highest peak on the world's continents and making her the first woman over age 60 to reach those Seven Summits.

LeClaire, from Spokane, plans a free talk and slide show about her ascent of the world's highest mountain, and her mountaineering experiences at 7 p.m. Wednesday at REI in Kennewick, 129 N. Ely.

She also hopes those who come to listen find inspiration in her story.

"You're never too old or too young to get out and enjoy the outdoors and get exercise," said LeClaire, 61. "I had a friend who died (recently) of a brain tumor. It's a reminder you never know when your time will come, so make the most of it."

LeClaire is stopping in Kennewick en route to Mount Hood, where she will join 12 teammates later this week in the OfficeMax Hood to Coast Relay, a 197-mile event that goes from Timberline Lodge to Seaside, Ore. LeClaire is running the 5.6-mile first leg and will run two other segments.

She also has several climbs on her agenda this fall to prepare for an expedition in January to a 20,000-foot peak in Ecuador. And there likely will be another Ironman Coeur d'Alene triathlon or two, an event LeClaire had to miss this year because of a broken collarbone suffered while training.

"My legs and knees are in good shape, so I'll keep at it as long as I can," said LeClaire, who also has run four marathons. "It makes me feel wonderful."

Her zest for climbing and fitness, however, hasn't been a lifelong pursuit.

It wasn't until LeClaire turned 50 that she got serious about fitness. She and her husband, Jerry, began running with her then-teenage son to help him train for high school cross country.

Inspired by a book about climbing Mount Rainier, LeClaire -- then 51 -- decided to tackle Washington's highest peak with her son. When they reached the summit, "I was hooked."

She learned and refined climbing skills at a mountaineering school in Spokane, and in 2001, she summited 19,000-foot plus Mount Kilamanjaro in Africa during a family vacation.

"One of my family asked why I wanted to climb the Seven Summits," said LeClaire, a retired nurse. "I'd read Dick Bass' book on the Seven Summits and loved it. I thought, 'Well, one's out of the way. Why not?' "

Mount Elbrus in Russia came next, followed by Denali in Alaska, Aconcagua in South America, Mount Vinson in Antarctica and Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia. Her first three attempts to scale Mount Everest, though, ended unsuccessfully.

But last year, climbing with a good friend and an equally skilled team, LeClaire reached the summit of Everest on May 23. She never knew she also would become the first woman over 60 to climb the Seven Summits.

"It was the last of the seven for me, and after eight years, I'd reached my goal," she said. "I didn't realize it at the time because there was another woman at Base Camp who was 65, and she would have been the oldest to climb the Seven Summits, but she didn't make the summit."

LeClaire said her record likely will be broken. And while she's proud of the accomplishment, she takes greater joy today in motivating others.

"I've had people tell me, "I started walking again,' or they started swimming, running or biking," she said. "It's heartening for me to hear stories like that, that people are taking care of themselves."