Meg's next descent

With less than two and a half months to go before she tries to do what no American and no woman has ever done, professional big mountain skier Maegan Carney's got a lot on her plate.

The two-time World Extreme Ski Champion has long been fascinated by skiing new routes on some of the world's most difficult mountain terrain. But none will compare to the challenge she will face on the South Col route on Mt. Everest this fall. With the help of four-time Everest summitter Wally Berg and his team from Berg Adventures, Carney plans to scale the highest peak in the world and, once reaching the summit, make a complete ski descent back to Base Camp and into the history books.

"The summer my dad took me up my first peak in the Washington Cascades when I was eight years old, I saw my first photo of Mount Everest and knew I wanted to stand on top of the world someday," she says. "Now as an adult, that dream has become a tangible goal."

Currently touring the US in support of her dream expedition, Carney says many people who initially think she may be nuts have been very supportive of her and are anxious to spread the word about her goal.

"My hope is that I'll actually be an inspiration to some young girl who is dreaming about climbing a big mountain"

A quiet, unassuming athlete known for being a 'good person' as much as a 'good skier', Carney is one of the top ski mountaineers in the world and has spent the past five years confronting her fears head-on.

Normally based in Chamonix, France, Carney completed a ski descent of Cholatse (6440m/21,250'), one of Everest's formidable neighbors, in the fall of 2002 and has a number of first descents in the Alps and Asia.

"I have been dreaming about and focusing on this challenge for many years, and after carefully preparing and studying the route, I am clear that this goal is not only within my skiing and high-altitude abilities, but is also an enormous affirmation of the choices I have made in my life," she says.

Her training and planning are in full-swing. While she's focusing clearly on her Everest climbing and skiing goal, Carney says her mind is so full of all the aspects of her dream becoming reality that it's increasingly hard to relax at the moment.

"I'm running a lot - both for fitness and to clear my head," she says.

"My hope is that I'll actually be an inspiration to some young girl who is dreaming about climbing a big mountain or a young woman starting her own business. That's a huge motivation for me."

For more information, contact Christie Pashby or Maegan Carney