Kathryn Adams
Kathryn has been an outdoor enthusiast for most of her life, however; her real pursuit of outdoor adventures began after her children had grown. At the age of 40, she began to rock climb and now leads sport routes in the 5.11 range. Kathryn hikes 14'ers, has sea kayaked in Alaska, trekked to Everest Base Camp in 1998 and, when she has time, snow shoes, skis, road and mountain bikes and participates in anything else that captures her adventurous spirit. Combining her efforts to raise awareness to the cause of breast cancer research with a challenging adventure will be a unique and rewarding opportunity.

Jeannine Balsamo
Jeannine is an avid climber, mountaineer, skier and biker. Her major outdoor accomplishments include trekking to Everest's Base Camp, participating in Ride the Rockies and riding her mountain bike in the Closing Ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She was also co-founder of "Women on the Rock," a southeastern woman's climbing group. Jeannine is also an 8 ½ year breast cancer survivor. Diagnosed at age 30 with no family history, Jeannine is intimately aware of the need for early detection, which will be made possible only through greater awareness of this disease in every community. She feels Kilimanjaro Climb for the Cure 2000 is another way to bring attention to this cause. Originally from Chicago, she currently resides in Denver and works for a major real estate development firm.

Debbie Dunker
Debbie is a 31-year-old attorney working in the Denver area. She participates in a variety of outdoor activities, including skiing, biking and running, and is currently training for the June 4th Steamboat Springs Marathon. She has just returned from a training/acclimatizing trip to Peru. Debbie is taking on the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro because she wants to be part of something that will benefit others while accomplishing an extraordinary achievement. Her aunt, Julie Strate Smart, died form breast cancer and she has always wanted to do something to honor her memory. Kilimanjaro Climb for the Cure 2000 will give her the opportunity to raise money in her aunt's honor, in the hopes that others will not have to lose a loved one to breast cancer. This expedition will be an incredible personal journey, which will demonstrate that anything can be accomplished by teamwork and determination, including finding a cure for cancer.

Bonnie Neiheisel
Bonnie is a 52 years young medical sales representative that has been involved in outdoor activities for most of her life. She joins the Kilimanjaro Climb for the Cure 2000 team to honor and celebrate two of her five best school-year friends. She adamantly "hates" breast cancer and wants to be part of the possibility for a cure. In the 1970s, two of Bonnie's friends spent their summer months conducting regional backpacking trips. Bonnie joined them and became their "Sherpa" supporter. She is looking forward to returning to the mountains and she is eager to share her experiences upon the team's return.

Lynn A. Steffen
Lynn's first mountaineering experience was in 1996 when she climbed Kilimanjaro with Wally Berg and Alpine Ascents International. This was the first time Lynn had ever slept in a tent... or sleeping bag for that matter! Since then, she has been on Mt. Baker and Mt. Whitney. Lynn is proud to be returning to Kilimanjaro with a far greater purpose this time — to raise awareness for breast cancer. Both Lynn's mother and grandmother died of the disease so it's a subject near and dear to her heart. Lynn was born and raised in the Chicago area where she currently resides and works as a Relationship Manager for Morningstar, a financial research firm. Along with travelling and anything that takes her outdoors, Lynn is an avid tennis player, enjoys all types of music (especially symphonic), will read just about anything and is a movie-junkie.

Barbara Yanari
Barbara started climbing 14'ers when she was 42 and is now a 58-year-old grandmother of one. Her favorite 14'ers are Holy Cross and Longs Peak, which she has climbed 14 times. Yanari loves snow shoeing, swimming, and skiing. Barbara is a breast cancer survivor of 14 years. Besides a passion for the outdoors, "where I get my spirit renewed," she loves to remodel houses and just finished helping her son and daughter-in-law remodel their house. "I like to take out walls and create more light."