Annie Doyle is a true legend, a remarkable woman. She is aiming to be the first New Zealand woman to complete the climbing of the seven summits. Only 26 women have ever achieved this goal. This is her story:

I grew up in beautiful New Zealand with Mt Pirongia as my backdrop and the hills of Rotoiti as my stomping ground. I have cycled through Europe and trekked New Zealand’s North Island. I currently live in Australia with my husband Rob and two children Matt and Grace.

I have a Bachelor of Nursing, (Anaesthetics, Burns, Intensive Care, Operating Theatre), a Bachelor of Business, Majoring in Accounting/Computing, I am currently doing a Post graduate degree in Law and am currently the Director of Finance for an Energy company in Sydney, Australia.

I have done Technical Mountaineering in NZ,  Navigation in the Blue Mountains, plus Cradle Mountain, South Coast Track, Mt Bartle Frere, K2K,  Hinchinbrook Island, The Bibbulmun Track, 6 x 100k Oxfam Trailwalkers and 1 x 104k Wild Endurance.  In my spare time, I have helped raise over $150,000 for charities and have summitted: Mt Kosciusko (AUS), Mt Elie de Beaumont, Hochstedder Dome, Mt Aylmer (NZ), Mt Aspiring (NZ), Mt Kinabalu, (MAL), Mt Kilimanjaro, (TAN), Mt Elbrus, (RUS), Mt Aconcagua (ARG) and Mt McKinley (USA).  In my spare time I try and get out on the trail as much as possible and love spending time in the Australian bush with good friends and good food.

I am in the process of climbing the highest mountain on every continent. Only 26 women in the world have done the Seven Summits.  No female New Zealander (Maori woman) has ever done the Seven Summits and hopefully I shall be the FIRST.

The five I have already completed are:

Mt Kosciusko (AUS)

Mt Kilimanjaro (TAN)

Mt Elbrus, (RUS)

Mt Aconcagua (ARG)

Mt McKinley (USA)

I am a working mother, currently involved in intensive fitness training to prepare body and mind for the challenges of high altitude, deadly cold, and extreme endurance. I train at all hours of the day and night and am incredibly disciplined.

I aim to complete the Seven Summits in the next two years.  This year I have practised on the slopes of 3 volcanoes in Bolivia.  At Xmas I climbed Mt Cook in New Zealand to get some good technical training in.  In August 2011 I am going to climb Mt Manaslu in Nepal, it is over 8000m and is critical for my training for Mt Everest.  In 2012 I aim to climb Mt Everest, the ultimate goal…..

Climbing Mt Everest will mean I have done 6 of the 7 summits.  The last summit for me will be Antarctica, Mt Vinson.  Then I will be the first New Zealand woman to have completed the 7 summits.

Sportstar.com will be following Annie’s progress closely. In February she is doing the Western Arthurs walk in Tasmania which is the hardest trek in Australia. Annie will be blogging for us all the way so keep reading … she is a true sportstar.

© Stephanie Vaughan (Editor) , Annie Doyle, and sportstar.com 2010

No related posts.