LGBTQ Life

Climbing Everest [ & Other Heights ] In the Name of LGBT Equality

Courtesy of Cason Crane

LUKLA, NEPAL -- Tenzing-Hillary Airport, named in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, is the final destination where most people start the climb to Mount Everest Base Camp. For twenty-year-old Cason Crane, a gay activist from Princeton NJ, who arrived there Tuesday it was a quick stopover for breakfast and then off to start the ascent of arguably the world's most famous mountain.

Crane will be the first openly gay person to attempt this feat, in addition to becoming the fifth youngest person ever to scale Everest.

An adventure-seeker and risk-taker, Crane has traveled to over 70 countries on all seven continents. In his journeys he has rafted for weeks through uninhabited jungle, ridden on horseback across Mongolia, and backpacked through some of the most remote corners of the world. He is passionate about combining his loves for exploring the world and contributing to good causes.

Crane is currently climbing seven of the world's highest mountains to raise money and awareness for The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention service for LGBTQ youth, in an initiative called The Rainbow Summits Project. [For more information on The Rainbow Summits Project: www.rainbowsummits.org.]
In the past, he has volunteered at orphanages in China and Ethiopia, worked in a drug rehabilitation center in Thailand, helped to mitigate human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, and sought to bring alternative energy to Haiti.

In addition to instilling in him a love of travel, his parents encouraged him to pursue his athletic goals and love of the outdoors from a young age. He participates competitively in a number of sports, including running, swimming, triathlon, and mountain climbing. 

To keep track of Crane as he makes his assault on Everest follow him on Twitter: @casoncrane

The Trevor Project was founded by writer James Lecesne, director/producer Peggy Rajski and producer Randy Stone, creators of the 1994 Academy Award®-winning short film, Trevor, a comedy/drama about a gay 13-year-old boy who, when rejected by friends because of his sexuality, makes an attempt to take his life.