So she has teamed up with her father, Richard, a self-employed marketing consultant who licked his fear of heights on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and Whitney, for a challenge to beat all challenges.

Last month, the father-daughter team from Southampton embarked on the goal of Climbing Mount Everest, which at 29,028 feet is the highest peak in the world.

They set out on March 28 with a 36-hour flight to Kathmandu in Nepal, then journeyed to the Himalayan mountain range in South Central Asia.

By Friday, they had climbed to Everest's base camp, which is 10,000 feet shy of the peak. Today, they are scheduled to arrive at Puja, a place just above base camp.

However, they won't climb to the top, because that's reserved for only the most experienced climbers.

"It's extremely dangerous," said Patricia Thompson, the wife and mother of the climbers. "They don't have the mountaineering experience to climb to the top."

They also have to contend with 20-degree-below-zero weather.

Soon they will return with picturesque photos, tales of Buddhist monks and an accomplishment few others can claim. They are scheduled to arrive home on April 23.

In the meantime, Patricia Thompson waits for weekly satellite phone calls to hear how her husband, 56, and daughter are coping.

She admires her daughter's courage, particularly in arriving at her decision to leave her job in corporate America.

It took guts for the 26-year old to break the news to her parents, who paid for a bachelor's degree at the University of Pennsylvania, her mom said.

"I'd rather her be honest about what she wants. I don't want her living for me," Patricia Thompson said.

Fortunately, her parents weren't furious. "She came to us and said 'I know you paid for me to go to college to have a career in my field. But I hate that life.'".

Patricia Thompson said she and her other daughter are the normal ones. "Our ideal vacation is in Puerto Rico at the Hyatt Regency."

To overcome his fear of heights, Richard Thompson began taking small camping trips with a friend along the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire, his wife said.

Then, he climbed Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak. He followed that achievement by climbing the 14,495-foot-high Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada Range.

Patricia Thompson said she respects her daughter's decision to change her life but vowed not to financially support her. She added that it's hard to imagine this is the same daughter who wanted a matching set of Gucci luggage for her 11th birthday.

But Jennifer got the physical fitness bug in college and participated in a 100-mile bike race, her mother said. "She like to live that unencumbered life," Patricia Thompson said.

To start the trip to Everest, the father-daughter team joined a group called Alpine Ascents International, which is based in Seattle. The group required them to write an essay and submit a doctor's certification of their health.

Jennifer, who spent college summers abroad, always has loved to travel, said her mother, adding that her daughter's next career move doesn't surprise her.

More than likely, Jennifer will join the Peace Corps. "For a while, she wanted to lead bike tours in France or be a park ranger in Utah."