There are some things you do not fully understand until you watch someone you love struggle to breathe. Kristen Mehan, from Eagle County, Colorado, knows this all too well.
After losing her father, Johan Sverdrup, at 55 years old to Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1), a rare genetic condition, Kristen decided to turn her loss into action and raise awareness and funds for the Alpha-1 Foundation (A1F).
On August 13-14, 2026, in Steamboat Springs, CO, Kristen will take on the 29029 Everesting Challenge by climbing a total of 29,029 vertical feet, the equivalent of summiting Mount Everest.
Step by step. Over and over again. Fourteen climbs to the top.
Not because it is easy, but because it is nothing compared to what her dad went through.
“My dad fought for every breath,” Kristen shares. “This climb is my way of honoring him and fighting for every family still facing Alpha-1.”
Her father was diagnosed in his mid-forties after struggling to breathe. Despite every effort, the disease progressed. At age 54, he underwent a lung transplant, giving the family a brief glimpse of hope. That hope was short lived, and he passed away just one year later.
Kristen now carries both his memory and his fight forward.
She has also learned that she carries the gene for Alpha-1 herself, a reality that has fueled her commitment to staying active, raising awareness, and showing what is possible for someone living a healthy life with Alpha-1.
Training for the Climb
Kristen is currently in week eleven of an intensive 20-week training plan as she prepares for this extraordinary challenge. Her routine includes cross training, 60-minute weighted rucks, step-ups, endurance hikes, and steep elevation climbs designed to build both strength and stamina. This weekend, she plans to hike for 3.5 hours and take on the legendary Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs, a grueling climb of 2,768 steps gaining 2,000 feet in just one mile.
The hike begins adjacent to Thunderhead Trail, which features a gentle incline to begin. Soon you turn onto the steeper Lower Valley View slope, before reconnecting with the Thunderhead Trail. A relatively gradual climb through the woods eventually crosses beneath the gondola again and turns onto a straight shot up to the summit.
Her training is a powerful reflection of determination, resilience, and what can be accomplished through proactive health management and perseverance. Kristen is proving that living with Alpha-1 does not define your limits.
Why This Matters
Alpha-1 is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood. It can lead to serious lung and liver disease and too many people are unaware they have it until it is too late.
Through this challenge, Kristen is working to raise awareness of Alpha-1 so more people get tested earlier, fund research for better treatments and a cure, and support individuals and families living with Alpha-1.
With a fundraising goal of $29,029, every dollar raised represents another step toward progress.
How You Can Help
Whether you donate or share her story, you are helping turn this climb into something bigger than one person.
Into hope.
Into progress.
Into breath for someone who needs it.
“For My Dad. For Every Breath.”
Kristen is climbing for him and for every family still fighting.
Support Kristen’s journey here:
https://trellis.org/alpha-1-everesting-challenge-for-a-cure
