TA Loeffler recently went to a clothing store check-out, hauled out a pair of bulky mitts and counted enough quarters to pay for a $22 sweat shirt.

That's 88 mooseheaded coins (although there were likely some of those 25 cent pieces that celebrate Canada's provinces in the mix). Loeffler is not a panhandler who bummed enough quarters to buy clothing in front of a Water Street bank.

She is a self-described "hockey-playing Buddhist filmmaker who is climbing Denali." And paying in quarters-she bought everything that way for an entire week-is part of her training to reach the summit of the highest peak in North America, known as Denali to some and Mount McKinley to others.

The 25 cent thing was one of Loeffler's 'Ring of Fire Challenges,' a series of dares conceived by a growing support team to toughen her up for the 35-day climb in June.

Her three-year-old niece dreamed up the idea of paying for everything with quarters.

"Because when you're on the mountain and it's cold, you have to deal with the frustration of not having the dexterity you usually have," explains Loeffler, a phys ed prof at Memorial University.

"She thought quarters were precious, and it was useful to be willing to have people think you were the looniest tune on the block. So, for a week, I paid for everything with quarters. I would go to Tim's and put on mitts and they'd look at you like, 'What planet you are from?'"

Lot Of Attention

The planet is this one after all. Loeffler-with her self-deprecating humor, infectious enthusiasm and evident quirkiness-appears quite human. What many would view as bionic are the measures she is taking for her trek around and then up the 20,320 foot mountain.

Since she literally set her sights on the summit last August. Loeffler vacationed in Alaska and saw Denali from a distance-she has embarked on an intense physical and mental training regime.

She does between 15 and 25 hours of physical training four weeks out of five. Included are strength workouts three to six days a week, cardio work almost daily and yoga, to help with her flexibility.

Most of the cardio comes from running-she does a half-marathon every weekend-and playing hockey (she played with the University of Minnesota in grad school). As part of her cardio kick, she also does step aerobics at MUN, wearing a 50- or 60-pound backpack when doing so.

"That always gets a lot of attention in the Field House, when I take my back pack and put it on and go to step classes."

The training has helped take 20 pounds off Loeffler's physique. For the first time ever, the always active Albertan has an abdominal cut.

"I feel very strong, very capable, very able physically."

My Life Was At Risk

On top of the physical preparations, there is the mental conditioning provided by the Ring of Fire Challenges. The tasks help keep her outside her comfort zone, which she figures is important when confronting major mountains.

Besides the quarter thing, she had to wear a dress for a full week --not the normal attire of a phys ed prof-and bake brownies without eating a single morsel or evening licking the bowl. It turned out to be a huge task for the chocoholic. So focused on conquering it, she started imaging herself going through an "ice fall." That's a cavern on a mountain where there is the real danger of ice falling on a climber's head.

"I had this very intense experience baking these brownies as if I was going through an ice fall and my life was at risk because I was baking these brownies.

(The brownie challenge, it's worth noting, was courtesy of a friend who noticed the words 'Denali' and 'denial' share the same letters. She wanted Loeffler to deprive herself in preparation for the mountain.)

Loeffler has also spent much of the year learning to meditate, and converted to Buddhism in the process. A storm on McKinley can lay climbers up for five days. That's five days in a tent where the only thing you can do is clean snow off the roof or melt snow for drinking water. Such sensory limitations can be mentally trying. Through learning how to narrow her focus by meditation, Loeffler hopes she can now endure any storms or other challenges.

Still Trying To Answer

But why?

Why is Loeffler putting herself through all this?

Why does she need to embark on a journey where, for the good part of four weeks, she will see only a snow-covered mountain 30 times the size of Signal Hill and whatever colour the sky is during a period of 24-hour daylight?

Why is she willing to carry a backpack "at least half, if not two-thirds" of her bodyweight up a hill with a greater vertical rise than Mount Everest?

Why does she want to spend June, just when the weather is decent in St. John's, battling 40 below temps and 100 kilometre winds?

It would be easy to keep asking these 'why' questions, which are basically all the same. For Loeffler, who has previously scaled high peaks in Mexico and the Himalayas, replying to one or any of them is much more difficult.

"Why?" she muses. "I think, in some ways, I_m still trying to answer that."

As the interview continues, Loeffler alludes to what's driving her, although she never quite defines it. She'll turn 40 while on the mountain and, during her 40th year, her plan is to tackle as many challenges as possible. Also, she says such a climb was on her "life list."

Overall, though, Loeffler's underlying motivation appears to be personal growth.

"What it's really about is seeing how far I can go," she offers. "It's about channelling everything into this particular pursuit. I can make almost everything training."

Through the all-consuming effort, Loeffler has already learned a lot about herself.

"It's revealed to me how mentally tough I already was, and it enables me to take that mental toughness even further." The preparations have allowed her to confront doubt.

"Having that little voice in your head that says, 'You can't do this? You can't do this or you're not fast enough or strong enough?" That is the piece I've been working with through the training, the Ring of Fire Challenges and the physical challenges.

"I've amassed a bunch of evidence that says, 'I am. I'm deeply resilient. You're deeply strong. You've trained hard.' I can't think of anything else that I could do to be ready."

Engaged in the Process

Loeffler will be led up the mountain by instructors from an organization called the National Outdoor Leadership School. She'll be the oldest of 12 climbers-nine men, three women. Joining them are three leaders.

Loeffler, who generally makes short films, is preparing to collect footage from the trek for a movie she might make after returning.

But whether or not she comes back successful is another story. Loeffler is quite prepared to fail. Only 50 per cent of the mountaineers who attempt Denali each year reach the summit.

"I might come back and not have climbed it. So I've learned to be very engaged in the process of it all...It's not about getting to the top. It's about being present in every one of those moments along the way."

When Loeffler returns from the climb, she expects to be a changed person. She figures to be more confident about confronting challenges and more aware of her strengths and weaknesses. She also expects to be a better educator.

"I'll bring back experiences. Give many stories back. Move my winter teaching skills along. Show the students many more things they can do in the winter environment and, perhaps, be an example for what happens when you take on the impossible."

Vanilla Dip

On the wall leading to Loeffler's office in the MUN phys ed building are pictures, graphics and images to do with her trek. She's dubbed it the Wickersham Wall, after a section of Denali's north side.

To the right of the wall on her office door are a number of images that make statements, some humourous, about who Loeffler is. One of the pics on the opening is of a vanilla dip donut from Tim Hortons. It's an indulgence that has become a crucial part of her training.

"I can go to Tim's at the Aquarena and say I'd like a large tea with milk and a religious experience, and they would get me a vanilla dip," she smiles.

"I think eating a vanilla dip is a religious experience."

Obviously, it's an overstatement, but the colourful, sprinkled donut has become a motivator and a reward for Loeffler. She even wrote a piece in her journal comparing vanilla dips to Tibetan prayer flags, which are strung across the roof of her office. The multi-coloured flags contain prayers and sit atop mountains. When the wind blows, the prayers are released. "The sprinkles on the vanilla dip are very much like the prayer flags," she argues. "Maybe a vanilla dip is actually an edible prayer flag. Maybe when I eat a vanilla dip, I'm actually praying."

Loeffler sent these thoughts out in a weekly update to her support group.

"My friend wrote back and said that was the finest piece of rationalization she'd ever read." An interesting point, since much of Loeffler's journey has been about rationalization and realization. She says many question what she is doing.

"Most people shake their heads and don't understand why someone would spend $11,000 to freeze their ass off."

But obviously the deep-thinking Loeffler thinks of her trek on a much deeper level than that. To her, it's all about conquering and achieving-something she feels everyone can identify with.

"I think we all have our different Denali," she says. "That's something I said to people this year. For me in my life right now, I needed this big external Denali to go after. It's about finding that Denali that brings you closer to where you need to be."