“For me, the altitude is the big question, and how will my body adapt to that.”

Kelly Gray shakes her brunette no-fuss-no-muss shag and continues, “I summited Mount Whitney and did well there, but I’ve experienced the effects of altitude: headaches, insomnia ... hydrating is the No. 1 thing to do.”

Spoken like a woman with a plan. And you need one if you’re going to trek up to 18,000 feet, a place known as Kala Patar, at the foot of Mount Everest. The highest mountain in the world shoots into the sky another 11,000 feet for a total altitude of 29,035. By comparison, the highest point at Northstar in Tahoe is well below 9,000 feet. Kelly will fly to a point in Nepal above 9,000 feet to begin her trek, bringing moleskin and duct-tape to protect and bolster her feet.

Along with approximately a dozen other people, Kelly joins what is being called A Sacred Trek of Transformation organized by her friend of many years, Cathy Ann Taylor, who owns an adventure travel company called Cattara. Each participant pays all their expenses and is also asked to raise at least $5,000 for the Breast Cancer Fund. Kelly has already almost reached her goal and she hopes to surpass it.

“I'm taking on this physical challenge as a way to prevent breast cancer," she says. "I have two sisters who are breast cancer survivors and my maternal grandmother also suffered from the disease. I want my children to know that we can do something positive regarding cancer and that we can hope for a better future.”

At 46, Kelly, wife to Sean, and mother of two young children, has been a lover of the outdoors for many years. She’s taken on a marathon here and a triathlon there and is currently interval running up Mount Burdell as well as hiking and mountain biking to push her lungs “to the max” to prepare for her two weeks plus in the Himalayas.

The biggest challenge of the trip, says Kelly, will be leaving her two children, Oliver, age 5, and 7-year old Lillie. “I’ve left them for long weekends, and one five-day trip with my husband,” she says. She plans to leave a scavenger hunt of notes for them to find (shhh, don’t tell!).

“They’re learning about the world, about breast cancer, about my workouts. They’re very proud of me," she says. "I’m very pleased with the influence that it’s having on them. “

You’ll be camping for over eight nights, staying in mountain lodges other nights. ... what do you think will be going through your mind when you’re tired, maybe feeling sick and weak, huge blisters on your feet?

“Yeah, right?” she laughs. (If one’s laughter is an indication of what kind of person someone is, it should be noted that Kelly has a big, full, booming laugh.)

“Perhaps the most difficult moments when I'm cold or experiencing pain or missing my family will be the ones that will ‘transform’ me," she says. "Or maybe it will be the quiet time, the slow steps and the extraordinary beauty. Since I really can't fathom what it will be like or how I will do, I am taking... (it) one step at a time ...  Whatever that transformation may be ... I believe it will be a positive one.”

Kelly sees this opportunity to travel, trek and raise funds as a privilege and knows she wouldn’t be able to do it without the support of her husband, his family and her family.

“It would not be happening without Sean’s encouragement," she says. "My dear friend is leading the trek, my husband is encouraging me to go, we can cover the cost, my in-laws are available to help care for our children and most importantly, I've been wanting to do something to fight against breast cancer. I feel like I would be going against the current if I said no. This is where my life is leading me.”

Although this will be her first trip to Asia, Kelly lived for a summer in Guatamala (Kelly's background includes being as bilingual grammar school teacher and reading recovery specialist) and traveled in El Salvador as well as Zambia and Zimbabwe in Africa.

“When I used to travel in Third World countries I would see poverty and lack of health care, and I told myself I wouldn’t travel to Third World countries again unless I was doing it for a cause."

She plans to carry prayer flags with names of survivors as well as those who lost their life to breast cancer. Each morning she will read the names of people on the  prayer list and set off trekking afterward. When she reaches Everest Base Camp, she will fly flags "and let the wind carry the prayers upward.”

If you would like to find out more about making a donation and receiving one of those prayer flags as well as being on Kelly’s prayer list, click on the link above to access her web page on the Breast Cancer Fund site.