A 52-year-old northern Wisconsin woman with multiple sclerosis is just days away from reaching the summit of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak, fulfilling her dream of reaching the highest point on each of Earth's seven continents.

Lori Schneider, of Bayfield, is one of several climbers closing in on the 29,035-foot peak on the border between Nepal and Tibet, according to her online updates.

The blog lays out a schedule that has Schneider and the others reaching the summit on Saturday, four days before World MS Day.

She began her seven-peak pursuit in 1993, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with her father, reaching the summit on his 61st birthday.

However, six years later at age 43, while training for Mount Aconcagua, in Argentina, her body began to go numb, and her multiple sclerosis was diagnosed.

She quit her teaching career in Colorado, ended a 22-year marriage, moved to Wisconsin (she's a Janesville, Wis., native) and "felt the panic of needing to complete my chosen task while I was still in control of my physical body," she wrote online.

Now, all that is left is Everest.

"My biggest reward through all of this has been learning about overcoming fear and limitations, and sharing this lesson with others," she wrote. "Life is too short not to go for the gusto when you are given the opportunity. I hope that all of your dreams come true as well."

To follow Schneider, visit www.alpineascents.com/Everest-cybercast.asp.

PAUL WALSH