https://chasingsummitswithlisa.com/

Chasing Summits with Lisa, 111 E Jefferson Rd, Pittsford, NY (2026)

06/05/2026

We Did It.

Today Jane and I stood on the summit of Mount Hood.

It was crazy hard and incredibly fun. I have climbed a lot of mountains, but I have never climbed anything quite as steep as this snow and ice route. It was impressive, intimidating, exhilarating, and absolutely worth every step.

The weather gave us a chance. We started in cold temperatures with winds around 35 mph, but as we climbed higher the winds eased and conditions became manageable. We ascended the Old Chute and descended the One O’Clock Chute, which made for a pretty amazing experience.

This summit also marked a special milestone for me. Mount Hood became my 25th high peak summit. Looking back at all the mountains, training days, early mornings, and lessons learned along the way makes me appreciate this one even more.

I am so proud of Jane for completing her first major mountaineering summit. What a mountain to choose for your first one. We trusted our training, our preparation, and our guide team, and everything came together. Best of all, I felt strong all day long.

Today I am grateful for the summit window, grateful for the adventure, and grateful for the reminder that hard work really does prepare you for hard things.

Mount Hood, you were unforgettable. A big thanks to Adam at Timberline Mountain Guides! 🥾🙏⛰️💪❤️

06/04/2026

Awesome day of training today! Summit day tomorrow. Up at 11:30 pm to begin our day. Should summit on or around sunrise. 🙏❤️ 💪🥾⛰️

06/03/2026

Part of the “band” was reunited today. If only wasn’t hiking the Appalachian Trail he could have been here too. 🤪 It was so good to catch up with two friends who stood with me on the summit of Mount Rainier last year and who stood on the summit of Mount Hood today (2 days before my attempt) The mountain stories were great, but the real gift has been the friendship we built through shared challenges and unforgettable adventures. 🙏❤️💪🥾⛰️

06/02/2026

A Perfect Oregon Morning

This morning I had a few hours before my friend Jane arrived, so I drove to Multnomah Falls and hiked to the top of the tallest free flowing waterfall in Oregon.

It was a great way to start the day. The trail climbed steadily uphill and the views kept getting better as I gained elevation. Oregon is a beautiful place, and I enjoyed having a little time to explore before the real adventure begins.

The hike also gave me time to think. In a few days I will be standing on a mountain with a chance to challenge myself again. I do not take that opportunity for granted. Being healthy enough to travel, hike, climb, and share these experiences with a good friend is a gift.

This morning was a reminder to slow down, look around, and enjoy the moments along the way, not just the summit ahead.

06/02/2026

The Mountain Is Finally in Sight

Today I looked out the airplane window and saw Mount Hood for the first time in 14 years up close.

I felt two emotions at exactly the same time.

Excitement.

And nervousness.

First and foremost, I am excited to be reunited with my friend Jane. There is something special about sharing an adventure with someone who understands why you choose hard things. We have trained, planned, and dreamed about this moment for months. Now we are finally here.

And honestly?

We are pumped.

Two women in our sixties chasing another summit. Still curious. Still capable. Still willing to do hard things. Still believing there is more adventure ahead than behind us.

Then I looked at the mountain.

My next thought was simple.

Wow. That looks tough.

The mountain suddenly became real. It was no longer a training plan on my wall. It was no longer twelve weeks of early alarms, heavy packs, StairMaster sessions, and workouts.

It was right there.

Waiting.

Then another thought followed.

I know I have done the work.

I know I have trained for this.

I know I am not the same person I was twelve weeks ago when I committed to Mount Hood. Every workout I completed when I did not feel like it. Every difficult session. Every time I chose discipline over comfort. Those moments built the person sitting on this airplane today.

The physical changes matter, but the mental changes matter even more. I have learned to trust myself. To keep moving forward when things get uncomfortable. To believe I am capable of more than I thought possible.

Will the summit happen?

I do not know.

Mountains do not owe us anything.

But I do know this.

My eighty year old self will be proud that I showed up. Proud that I kept saying yes to adventure. Proud that I continued to test my limits and discover what I am capable of.

So here is to the next 48 hours.

To friendship.

To adventure.

To nervous excitement.

To hard work.

To standing at the base of something that looks impossible and taking the first step anyway.

Let’s go. ✈️🥾⛰️💪🙏

06/02/2026

The Privilege of Hard Work

Today was Max Effort Monday.

Tomorrow I fly to Oregon to attempt another summit. As I pushed through today’s workout, my mind kept going back to last week. My lungs were struggling. My body simply could not do the work. For the first time in a long time, I had to sit out a Max Effort Monday.

It reminded me of something important. Being able to work hard is a privilege.

We often focus on the discomfort of training. The early mornings. The heavy breathing. The tired legs. The days when we would rather stay in bed. But when that ability is taken away, even for a short time, you realize what a gift it is to have a body that can show up and do hard things.

None of us gets a guarantee that we will always be able to do what we can do today. Injury, illness, and age eventually change the game for all of us. That is why we should embrace the opportunities we have right now. Climb the mountain. Take the walk. Lift the weight. Go for the run. Challenge yourself.

At the same time, there is another lesson. Sometimes the hard thing is not pushing harder. Sometimes the hard thing is giving yourself grace. Resting when your body needs it. Recovering without guilt. Trusting that one missed workout does not erase years of effort.

Today I was grateful to be back. Grateful to breathe hard. Grateful to work. Grateful for another chance to prepare for the mountain.

What are you still able to do today that you may be taking for granted? And are you making the most of that gift? 🥾🔥⛰️💪❤️🙏

05/31/2026

48 Hours

In 48 hours, I will board a plane for Oregon and begin my attempt to summit Mount Hood.
Five days ago, I was not sure how I would feel today. The cough, sinus pressure, headaches, body aches, and exhaustion hit hard. It felt unfair to spend 24 weeks preparing for a mountain only to have my body challenged right before departure. But each day I feel a little stronger. Each day I improve. And as I recover, I find myself leaning on something that has carried me through every training cycle and every mountain I’ve ever attempted.

Discipline.

For 24 weeks, I have shown up. I have climbed stairs with a heavy pack. I have hiked hills in the rain. I have trained when I was tired, when I was busy, and when motivation was nowhere to be found. The work is done. The fitness is there. The confidence comes not from wishing for a summit but from knowing I prepared for one.

I also draw strength from the lessons of the past year.

I think about standing on the summit of Mount Rainier and reaching 18,000 feet on Kilimanjaro. Those mountains taught me that impossible goals can become reality when you are willing to do the work long before summit day arrives, but also that no summit is ever guaranteed. Weather, health, route conditions, and countless other variables remain outside our control.

Those lessons have stayed with me.

I cannot control the weather on Mount Hood. I cannot control the mountain. I cannot control every circumstance that unfolds over the next few days.

But I can control my effort.

I can control my attitude.

I can control my willingness to keep moving forward when things get uncomfortable.

I can control the voice in my head that reminds me I am stronger than I think I am.

The summit is never guaranteed. It never was on Rainier. It never is on Hood. But what gives me peace is knowing that I have done everything I could to prepare for the opportunity.

Now it is time to trust the training.

Time to trust the process.

Time to trust myself.

And if the mountain allows it, perhaps in a few days I will find myself standing on another high peak, grateful for every step that brought me there. 🥾🔥💪⛰️🙏

05/29/2026

From Mental Zone 5 to Mental Zone 2

My body is fighting a virus, but my mind is training for the mountain.

Four days from now I leave for Oregon to attempt Mount Hood, and instead of feeling strong and confident, I feel terrible. The cough, sinus pressure, headache, body aches, and exhaustion have settled in hard. I even tested for flu A, flu B, and COVID. Thankfully all were negative, but that does not change the fact that right now I feel physically awful. My thoughts have been all over the place, trying to process what this means for summit day.

We spend a lot of time talking about heart rate zones in training. Zone 2 builds endurance. Zone 5 pushes us to our limits. But I think there are mental zones too. When I first got sick, my mind immediately jumped into Mental Zone 5. This is not fair. I have worked for 23 weeks and now this? Will I recover in time? Will all this work be wasted? The problem is that Mental Zone 5 is not where solutions live. It is where fear, frustration, and panic live. My current stressor is a virus. I cannot control that. What I can control is what I make it mean. I can choose to believe that I am strong, resilient, and capable of healing. While my physical performance may be decreasing this week, I would like to believe that my mental performance capacity is increasing. Every time I bring my thoughts from Mental Zone 5 down to Mental Zone 2, I create space for better decisions and a better path forward.

This morning, I asked myself how I wanted to manage this situation. The answer was simple. Believe in recovery. Believe that the work of the last 23 weeks matters. Believe that I can take this recovery week and still show up ready on summit day. This is about more than a virus. It is preparation for every decision I will face on the mountain. The decision to keep moving. The decision to push when it gets hard. The decision to believe I am capable. Right now, I need to let go of everything that does not matter and make space for what does. My body is fighting a virus, but my mind is training for the mountain. ⛰️🔥💪🥾

05/26/2026

Two treks up Bristol after a morning of Body Pump lifting. What a gift to have .victoria.engels and join me for the second trek.

And somehow reached the top at almost the exact same time both back to back treks. The first climb was 46:06 minutes. The second was 46:08 minutes. Two seconds apart. Honestly, how crazy is that? What makes it even stranger is that I never look at my watch while I climb. I just settle into the strongest pace that still feels sustainable and keep moving forward one step at a time. No racing. No chasing a number. Just effort, rhythm, and consistency. Maybe that is what happens when you spend enough time training your body and your mind. You learn your pace. You learn your effort. You learn how to keep showing up and moving forward even when it gets uncomfortable.

Now I’m entering my final week of training before heading to Oregon to attempt to summit Mount Hood. I’m excited and, honestly, a little nervous too. I think that’s part of doing things that matter to us. There should probably be some nerves attached to big adventures and big goals. I know this climb will leave me with lessons, memories, and moments that will stay with me long after I leave the mountain. And one of the things I’m most excited about is being reunited with on another mountain adventure. There is something special about standing beside people who understand the effort, the preparation, and the pull toward the summit. 🥾⛰️🔥🙏❤️

05/24/2026

The Voice You Build in a Storm.

43 degrees at the summit. Pouring rain. Cold wind. Not another person on the mountain. Just me, 32 pounds on my back, and 1100 feet of elevation gain in just under 49 minutes. Not prepared since I’ve been enjoying slumber parties for the past two nights. The hike was hard. It was not fun. Maybe type 2 fun. 🤪🥾💪💦

But this is where we learn that we are responsible for finding what challenges us, what makes us uncomfortable, and then learning how to become comfortable inside that discomfort. Manufactured difficulty teaches us how to talk to ourselves when things get hard.

Because one day life will bring difficulty that is not chosen. And when it does, we want our inner voice to already know the language of capability, resilience, and strength. We want it to say: you can do hard things, you are capable, you are a warrior. The way we talk to ourselves matters. It can change everything. 🔥🙏💦🌎 .

Chasing Summits with Lisa

06/05/2026

06/04/2026

06/03/2026

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

05/31/2026

05/29/2026

05/26/2026

05/24/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category