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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, August 5, 2002

Climbing McKinley for a friend

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

He weathered blizzards, temperatures below minus 50 degrees and a cracked rib, but Alex Steelsmith's dedication to a friend kept him going on a climb up Alaska's Mount McKinley this summer to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.

A good friend of Steelsmith's, Jean Sturdevant, lived with an extremely debilitating form of MS for more than a decade and died two years ago. Steelsmith climbed the mountain in her memory.

Now Steelsmith, a Hawai'i artist (and married to Laurie Steelsmith, a contributing columnist for The Advertiser), is working on a painting based on the climb. "It means a lot to me," he said. "I think because of Jean. It's really in honor of her and of others who have MS."

For a donation of $60 or more to the MS Foundation, Steelsmith will provide a signed and numbered limited-edition print of his artwork, which should be finished by October. Donors of $150 or more will receive a limited-edition artist's proof; donors of $500 or more will receive a hand-embellished artist's proof.

All of the money will go to the MS Foundation. Contributions can be sent to: Steelsmith, 150 Hamakua Drive, No. 800, Kailua, HI 96734.

Donations must be received by Sept. 18 to ensure free print delivery by Nov. 15. So far, Steelsmith has raised more than $6,000.