Mountain Mission: Climber changing lives while reaching new heights
CAMP HILL — All it took was one scene.
One moment.
“When I saw the sunrise from above the clouds, something switched in me,” said Julie Beall-McKelvey.
That was in 2016, when McKelvey joined her father, John Beall, in climbing Mount Fuji, the largest mountain in Japan. That summit was 12,389 feet.
“My father was a mountain climber, and that was going to be his last one,” McKelvey said of Mount Fuji. “He asked me to do it with him.
“That scene, that sunrise, it was so moving for me. I was hooked.”
McKelvey, 52, lives in Camp Hill. She owns all 34 Miracle-Ear franchises in Pennsylvania, including the one in Butler.
She decided to take her new love of mountain climbing to new heights — the highest heights.
McKelvey decided to try conquering the Seven Summits, the highest mountain on each continent. First on her list was Mount Kilimanjaro, a 19,341-foot summit in Africa. She accomplished that in 2018.Then she got to thinking.“I could do this for charity,” she said.The charity closest to her heart is the Miracle-Ear Foundation, established in 1990 to provide funding for adults and children in need of hearing aids who cannot afford them.“Julie is an amazing woman,” said Marleen Hoffman, the manager of the Miracle-Ear office in Butler for 20 years. “The impact of her climbs is being felt right here.“About three or four people every year in Butler receive hearing aids through the foundation. It's changing lives.”The Miracle-Ear Foundation has donated 25,000 hearing aids nationwide and plans to do more, with McKelvey leading the way.She calls her fundraiser the “Summit for Sound.” Since starting the program, McKelvey has scaled Mount Elbrus, an 18,500-foot summit in Russia, and Mount Acancagua, a 22,841-foot summit in Argentina.Those ventures raised just under $100,000 for the foundation.“Every penny that's donated goes directly to the foundation,” Hoffmann said. “She doesn't keep any of it.”McKelvey said she's receiving plenty just by climbing the mountains.
“Every time I come back down, I'm a better version of myself,” she said. “When you're up on a mountain, the things you see and experience ... you realize how small you are in the realm of everything.“It's spiritual for me. It truly is.”McKelvey's next venture is reaching the summit of the 20,310-foot Mount Denali in Alaska. She begins that journey June 5 and is scheduled to complete it July 2.After that, her remaining summits are Mount Kosciuszko in Australia, Mount Vinson in Antarctica and Mount Everest in Asia.“Everest is a 65-day climb. It's the toughest one,” McKelvey said. “My plan is to do that one in 2023. Because of weather, there's a very tight window in which you can do it.“My son graduates in 2022, when that window is. I'm not going to miss his graduation.”McKelvey has been married to her husband, Bobby, for 20 years. She has been able to juggle family time with preparing for and scaling the summits, and running a business for 26 years.“She's proof that you can have it all,” Hoffman said. “So inspiring.”McKelvey said she often receives positive feedback from people.“One woman wrote me and said she got off the couch and took a walk today because of me,” she said. “I loved that.“I have the full support of my family. We're teaching our kids that anything is possible.”
Only 70 women in the world have scaled the Seven Summits. McKelvey is determined to join that list.Of course, there's a reason only 70 women are on that list.No one does the mountains alone. The adventures are scheduled in groups.“The process is brutal,” McKelvey said. “On Mount Denali, we will be sleeping in a tent with the temperature 30 degrees below zero.“You're hiking with 120 pounds of gear and food, some in a backpack, some on a sled you're pulling behind you. And you're on the mountain for weeks.”She trains for a summit venture for weeks as well, running up and down steep hills with the backpack, six days a week, five or six hours a day.
“The average age of people doing these summits is the mid-50s,” McKelvey said. “Their kids are grown. They're established in life. The time is right.“I want to get these done by 2023 or so because, in a few years, I physically won't be able to do this.”She added there are “altitude issues” that affect one's heart and breathing as the air grows thinner.“I've had an episode at the top,” McKelvey said of one of her summit climbs. “I couldn't breathe. Nobody can come get you at that altitude. You have to climb down or be pulled down by a rope.“I discovered how dangerous this can be.”She's always known how rewarding it is.“Having the experience of a lifetime while changing people's lives?” McKelvey said. “That works for me.”Anyone interested in making a donation to the Miracle-Ear Foundation may visit pledge.giftofsound.org or visit Butler's Miracle-Ear office.
