Cancer benefit is personal for North Bend climber

North Bend resident Jamie Rosen climbed Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta as a tribute to friends battling cancer.

Now, Rosen is climbing Shasta in a benefit trek, Climb Against the Odds, this summer. This time, she has her own family in mind.

With a brother-in-law diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and her mother-in-law diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Rosen has taken it upon herself to train once again for the 14,179-foot climb up Mount Shasta. She has dedicated herself to raise a dollar for each foot she climbs.

“I’ve been touched by cancer throughout my life and I’ve watched families crumble from it as family members pass away,” Rosen said.

Rosen’s father died of colon cancer last year.

First taking on Mount Rainier in 2005 to help the Breast Cancer Fund, Rosen saw the cause become more personal when a climbing team member, in remission from cancer, asked for her help in climbing to the top of Shasta a year later.

“It was so important to help her get up there,” Rosen said. “We all went back to help her and we got her to the top. It was incredible.”

Rosen said she never would have imagined during her first climb how much cancer would touch her life. What she had observed other families going through was now impacting her.

Benefit climb

With a $14,179 goal to reach — the biggest amount she has ever set out to raise — Rosen has decided to team up with North Bend Bar and Grill for a special benefit. The Save Our Peaks Fundraiser to benefit the Breast Cancer Fund is Sunday, June 6. Proceeds help Rosen and raise awareness for cancer prevention.

“The fundraiser is going to be a great day of fun, building awareness,” Rosen said. “The Breast Cancer Fund is not focused on a cure, it’s focused on prevention, and that’s what’s gotten me fired up.”

Save Our Peaks features food specials throughout the day, information on the climb, visits by a number of outdoor experts from the community to discuss getting healthy in the outdoors, and a trivia night.

The fundraiser will go from 8 a.m. to midnight; experts will be available from noon to 7 p.m., and trivia will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. A raffle will follow.

North Bend Bar and Grill has also agreed to match 10 percent of all proceeds to the Breast Cancer Fund that are earned that day.

• For more information on the Save Our Peaks fundraiser, contact Jamie Rosen at Jamie.L.Rosen@gmail.com.

• For more information on the Breast Cancer Fund’s Climb Against the Odds, visit www.breastcancerfund.org/climb.

Contact Snoqualmie Valley Record Reporter Allison Espiritu at aespiritu@valleyrecord,com or 425-888-2311.

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