Article Contributed on: 1/3/2009 3:17:43 PM
I didn't realize, until after I'd graduated from Thunder Ridge High School and CU, how big of a role mountains would play in my life. I've spent the past few years exploring places like Red Rock Canyon, Nevada; Vedauwoo, Wyoming; Indian Creek, Utah; the Tetons; the Andes; Mexico's volcanoes and the Colorado Rocky Mountains right in my backyard.
Now I'm trying to help kids who otherwise might never have a chance to see the mountains. I'm going to climb California's 14,162-foot Mount Shasta on June 13, as part of Summit For Someone, a fundraiser for Denver-based nonprofit Big City Mountaineers. I've pledged to raise $3,600 for my climb, and the money I raise will fund backcountry trips for urban kids. Along with five other Summit For Someone participants from all over the U.S., I'll spend three days climbing the West Face of Mount Shasta.
BCM's mission is to enhance the lives of under-resourced urban teens through transformative outdoor experiences. Summit For Someone is the primary fundraiser for BCM's programs, which show teens a different perspective by taking them into wilderness areas in California, Colorado, Minnesota and the Pacific Northwest, with a one-to-one ratio of adult volunteers as positive role models.
Big City Mountaineers is headquartered in Denver's City Park neighborhood at 1667 Vine St. Local partner agencies include cityWILD, Colorado Youth At Risk, Colorado I Have a Dream, Denver Kids and A Kidz Hope. Each summer, local volunteers take Colorado teens to explore areas in the White River National Forest near Carbondale, Colo., the Flat Tops Wilderness near Craig, Colo., and the Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming.
WANT TO HELP?
To donate to Stephanie Maltarich's Mount Shasta climb, visit
www.summitforsomeone.org and click "donate" to find Stephanie's page.
For information on how to donate by check, call 303-271-9200.