For Ballard resident Lynn Tissell, celebrating her 45th birthday involved more work than play. Her present to herself was climbing to the top of 14,410 foot Mt. Rainier on July 14.

The climb had been on her mind for 12 years. "I had been thinking about it. Finally the time was right to do it this year," she said.

Tissell was one of 68 climbers participating in "Climb for Clean Air," sponsored by the American Lung Association (ALAW) of Washington. The climbers raised over $310,000 for ALAW.

Tissell received pledges from family, friends and co-workers at Swedish Medical Center on Capitol Hill where she is an executive assistant to the chief financial officer. Swedish made a corporate donation to support her climb.

As of last week, Tissell's pledges totaled $12,896.

"This is one of the highest individual fundraising amounts in the 18-year history of our event," said Paul Payton, director of communications for the ALAW.

Tissell was inspired to take part in "Climb for Clean Air," by some cousins and nephews in her family who have asthma.

In order to prepare for her challenge, Tissell trained five days a week. One day a week was spent on hiking trails. She built up her strength and did balancing exercises. "It was tough, but it was worth it," Tissell said.

The 68 climbers broke up into groups and did their climbs separately over a period of several days.

Tissell's 17-member group consisted of four women and 12 men. Most of them were in their 40s and 50s, except for one of the women who was 18 years old.

It's a two-day climb. On the first day, they hiked from Paradise to Camp Muir, a 5,000-foot elevation gain in five hours.

"Anyone in good shape can do that. There's a trail and a snow field," said Tissell.

The second day started with an early bed call and middle of the night wake up time.

Climbers went to sleep on pads placed on top of hard plywood at 6 p.m. Tissell managed to get a few hours of sleep. Others could not sleep, and the guides told them just laying there was good for them.

Guides woke the group at mid-night. They started the climb at 12 a.m. because the snow is firmer.

The day would be a 13-hour ordeal. Guides briefed them on the weather conditions and told them what to wear. Climbers carried an ice ax, crampons, avalanche beacon, helmet and were roped together in groups of three.

Mother nature welcomed them with 50 mph sustained winds on the way up with 70 mph gusts.

"It was really hard work. I have a whole new take on resistance training. Trying to go uphill into the wind was pretty hard. I did not know if I could make it," said Tissell.

The guide kept pulling on the rope, telling Tissell and the others to keep going.

Unlike 29,035 foot Mt. Everest, climbing Mt. Rainier does not require oxygen tanks.

"With all the training, it is still a mental game, trying to overrule your mind which is telling you, you can't do it," she said.

"It was an effort. Every step, the wind batters you, you are tired. I was surprised how mentally used up I was," Tissell said.

Being roped to two other climbers, Tissell could not give up.

"You don't have an option. It was a battle keeping one foot forward to keep going," she said.

Climbers have died on the mountain and Tissell was aware of the dangerous aspects of the sport.

"I gained a fair amount of confidence in my ability to climb. I was amazed at my peace during the climb. A lot of people were nervous about the wind and falling. I was calm," said Tissell.

They crossed one crevasse by walking over a ladder stretched across it. Guides find new spots to place the ladders on each climb since the glaciers open and close to varying widths. They jump up and down on the ladders to test the strength of its placement.

They held onto a rope for stability. Balancing exercises on logs paid off for Tissell. "I walked across it, it was not an issue. It was a good feeling to be able to do that," she said.

The climbers reached the summit. "It was an amazingly clear sky. We could see Mt. Adams to the south," said Tissell.

The exertion required to get to the peak diminished the experience. "I was disappointed I did not have the mental energy left over to enjoy it. 'It's like I'm here now, lets go back down because it's windy,' we all felt that way, it was windy up there," Tissell said.

The descent was also taxing. "We came down 9,000 feet in one day. It is really hard. It would be really hard for anyone in good shape," said Tissell.

Tissell was raised in Olympia with a view of Mt. Rainier and has a new appreciation for the icon of the Pacific Northwest landscape.

"I grew up looking at it. Now after 12 years of wanting to do it, I look at the peak from the city (Seattle) and it doesn't look the same," she said.

"It's breathtaking and humbling. You are only a tiny speck on this mountain," said Tissell.