Business
Wire
January
23, 2008
Levine endured
some of the harshest conditions known to man including -500F
temperatures, icy winds and dangerous crevasse fields covered with snow bridges
that have been known to collapse under pressure. The extreme weather made the
trip especially hard for Levine because she suffers from Raynauds Disease, a neurological disorder
that affects her extremities in cold weather. As a
result, she often lost the use of her hands and was forced to ski without poles
because she could not grip the handles. In addition, she was born with Wolff-Parkinson-White
Syndrome, a life-threatening heart condition and had two surgeries to
correct the problem.
At 54, 112-pounds, Levine skied 10 hours a day with a sled
containing 150 pounds of her own gear and supplies harnessed to her waist.
Despite eating 5,000-6,000 calories a day, Levine lost 15 percent of her body
weight due to the physical demands of the journey.
Levine, who
served as the deputy finance director for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his
successful bid to become Governor of California, received congratulations from
Governor Schwarzenegger and First Lady of California Maria Shriver. "We
were thrilled to hear the news of our friend Alisons
safe arrival at the South Pole," said First Lady of California Maria
Shriver and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a joint statement. "We
admire her sense of adventure, and we hope she will inspire all Californians
and all Americans to pursue whatever they are passionate about."
Levine retraced Messners traverse to the
South Pole as part of an international five-person team that included an
Australian, who led the group along with adventurers from
A record of her blog and pictures can be found here: http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/Levine/2007/11/track_alison_levines
_progress.asp. (Due to its length, this
URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field.
Remove the extra space if one exists.)
About Alison
Levine
Alison Levine has
climbed peaks on every continent, served as team captain of the first American
Womens Everest Expedition and skied across the
Levine earned her
MBA from