Two Meridian Men Successfully Climb 2 Mountains To Raise Awareness Of Parkinson's Disease

A local man is willing to go to great heights to raise awareness and funds for finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease.

The “Ascent For A Cure” foundation was founded in 2019 by Adam Hodges, general manager of Anderson Health and Fitness Center, who had a goal to climb Mt. Everest for the cause in March of this year, but was unable to when the mountain was shut down due to the pandemic.

“With Everest, things just began to worsen over time, and I was really getting concerned about leaving the country back in March, leaving my family. I could see that things were getting worse in our county, so in a way there was some relief on my part, that the trip got cancelled. I was sad of course, disappointed but really relieved that I could stay here and be with my family,” said Adam Hodges, founder of “Ascent For A Cure”.

Not to be defeated, on the week of July 31, Adam along with another Meridian local, Davin Mancini, traveled to Washington state and were able to climb Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan.

“These are smaller mountains, they’re in the ten thousand , eleven thousand foot range, were as Everest is twenty-nine thousand, but these are difficult mountains, so from a physical standpoint they are just as hard, and it was just good to get back in the mountains, it was good to travel, and get a little bit of normalcy back in our lives,” said Hodges.

He also shared his hopes for the future of the “Ascent For A Cure” foundation.

“Climbing’s a big part of this program and hopefully we can get more people with Parkinson’s or with loved ones that’s got Parkinson’s to get out there with us and get out in the mountains and accept that challenge,” said Hodges.

“Ascent For A Cure” founder, Adam Hodges, plans to climb Mt. Everest in March of 2021, to continue to raise awareness of Parkinson’s Disease.