Health
Allie Pepper was almost defeated by her menopause Everest
Australian mountaineer Allie Pepper has faced some tough climbs, including Everest – but none quite as brutal as menopause.
By Shelly Horton
I met Allie Pepper, Australian mountaineer extraordinaire, at Parliament House during the first-ever parliamentary roundtable on menopause in 2023. Honestly, I’m not sure who’s more inspiring: a woman who has climbed Mount Everest or one who’s scaling the peaks of menopause with the same level of grit.
In Allie’s case, she’s both. You’d think someone who has conquered some of the world’s highest mountains would have no trouble handling the ups and downs of midlife. But menopause can hit even the toughest of us like an avalanche.
Allie Pepper is a warrior in every sense, but the mountain of menopause – well, that was a different beast. Allie first felt the symptoms of menopause creeping in when she was 45. “I went from sleeping like a log to waking up 5 times a night, dripping in sweat,” Allie tells me. “And I was so emotional; I would cry over a lost dog video on Facebook. It was brutal.”
Something was seriously off
The thing about athletes, especially someone like Allie who has trained 6 days a week for decades, is that they’re hyper-aware of their bodies. So, when things started going haywire, like joint pain, trouble recovering from training and sudden weight gain, she knew something was seriously off.
“I felt like my body, the same body that got me to the summit of Everest, was betraying me,” Allie says. “I honestly thought I was going to have to quit climbing. I was ready to give up on my dream of tackling 8000-metre peaks.”
Can you imagine? Giving up the thing you’re most passionate about because your body suddenly feels foreign? It’s beyond frustrating.
Like many women, Allie went to her GP for answers. And, like many women, she didn’t get the help she needed straight away. The doctor ordered hormone blood tests, which are not actually recommended for diagnosing perimenopause (let’s save time and skip those, ladies).
She was given some medication that sort of helped but didn’t quite hit the mark. “It was a bit of a process,” Allie admits. “But I felt like my body was letting me down, and I didn’t know what else to do.” Then, in true climber fashion, she dug in and didn’t give up.
From let down to chasing 14 summits
One day, while watching 60 Minutes (because, hey, you never know when menopause wisdom will strike), she had a breakthrough. The show mentioned Wellfemme, a telehealth service specialising in menopause care, and Allie knew she had to try it. “I had a telehealth appointment with a doctor who really listened. They took the time to understand my symptoms and my story. After that, they put me on the right HRT and it changed everything. The big symptoms started to fade in about a month, and now I feel better than I did ten years ago!”
Her current project is to climb to the summits of all 14 of the world’s 8000-metre peaks without using supplementary oxygen, and she aims to complete this challenge in a world-record time of 3 years. Only a couple of men in the world have verified ascents of all 14 8000-metre peaks without supplementary oxygen and they took over a decade to complete their projects.
You heard that right. This woman has gone from night sweats and joint pain to chasing world records on some of the highest peaks on earth. Allie tells me, “I wish I’d known more about menopause earlier. If I had, I wouldn’t have thought about giving up my passion. Women aren’t taught enough about this stage of life, and it’s crazy. I love being on top of a mountain, in the thin air. That’s where my spirit feels free.”
Don’t give up on yourself
The way Allie talks about her climbing expeditions made me realise how similar climbing mountains is to the journey through perimenopause and menopause. You don’t get there overnight. You stumble, you regroup and, sometimes, you have to find a new route, but you don’t stop climbing. “Educate yourself. Don’t be discouraged if the first doctor you see doesn’t have the answers. There’s a lot of information out there, but you’ve got to go looking for it. Start with reputable sources like the Australasian Menopause Society. And, most importantly, don’t give up on yourself.”
Allie’s motto these days? “I’m going from menopause to menopeaks!” I don’t know about you, but I’m seriously thinking about making that my next hashtag.
Text from I’m Your Peri Godmother by Shelly Horton. Murdoch Books RRP $34.99.
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