One of re:’s favorite people, Kathy Myers, recently returned from a climbing expedition in Alaska. Kathy, also a competitive ballroom dancer, started climbing about ten years ago (she was already well into her 40s.) When she reached her first major summit, her climbing partners teased her that she had to dance for them.

She did, and in her words, “a monster was born.” Since then, she’s summited mountains in South America, and amassed a little collection of the world’s most oxygen-deprived latin dances. Denali — the highest point on the North American continent — was her toughest challenge to date. We made her promise to call us from base camp by satellite phone while her thoughts on the climb were still fresh. As soon as she got back to civilization, she forwarded pics and video from Denali, and we assembled the first in what we hope will be a series of short videos about people who are redefining the 50+ age category.

Redefining 50+: Kathy Myers from re: RevolutionaryOldIdea.com on Vimeo.

Her final thought, “Maybe a mid-life crisis isn’t so bad, if it shows us what’s been holding us back,” is a real motto to live by. At re: we know that while Kathy’s an extreme case, in many ways she embodies the way that Baby Boomers are approaching middle age. In short, she ain’t done yet, and neither are the rest of us.

(Thanks to another ballroom dance star, Mary Pinizzotto, who doubled as an editor on this project.)