It Comes in Threes

I live in New York City. To say that things are saturated here is an understatement. In volume alone your choices are much more complicated because you have that many more options. Should I take this job over another? Is it Ethiopian or Indian tonight? Should I date this person or that person? Technology and the accessibility of information has only made it worse. Blackberry or IPhone? I often wonder if life would be simpler if I had fewer options or if I knew less about the options that present themselves to me. One can become lost in the endless sea of opportunity. With out clear goals there is no one path but many paths that lead nowhere.

This is why projects like Summit for Someone are important. It is a clear obtainable goal that helps give focus to people who need it. Its the ultimate in a win-win situation. It gives clear focus to both the kids it benefits and the those that are climbing for their benefit. We need projects like this to keep ourselves on track. Otherwise we are just floating around trying to navigate the waters and hoping we make it to shore.

I saw the movie "Avatar" the other day and when you see an epic movie like that you can't help but wonder how they did that. It's simply really. They take it apart piece by piece and focus on one thing at a time with a clear goal . The goal is a piece of art that is solid story telling, artistic genies, and a clear picture of a world in which you want your audience to live.

The goal of my Summit for Someone project is three fold. Exceed or hit my fundraising mark. Make a difference in someones life. Make it to the top of the mountain in one piece. From there I am sure the picture will be all encompassing.

To reach those goals I must focus on what will get me there. It seems my choices are clear. The only way to the top of Mt. Whitney is by focusing on three things.

1). Fundraising
2). Gearing up
3). Training

My next entries will outline what I intend to do for each. Noting that intend is the operative word in that sentence.

Big City Mountaineers

"Sometimes the only way to change a teen's perspective is to provide an entirely new one"

I first learned of the Summit For Someone Program in 2007 when I was chosen to head a team of five guys into the Montana Wilderness to map the Continental Divide Trail for BACKPACKER Magazine. One of those guys had just gotten back from climbing Mt. Shasta for the program. All week long and on the trail he regaled us with stories of how he received a mountain of gear in a large box just like Christmas. He couldn't stop talking about how transformative a program it was for both him and the kids that it would benefit. I am an avid backpacker and outdoors man and I had always wanted to make the transition to climbing mountains. Here was a clear cut program that not only gave me the opportunity to learn the sport of Mountaineering, but way to give back to the community and make a difference in someones life at the same time. I knew then and there that this was for me.

Based out of Boulder Colorado, Big City Mountaineers (BCM) was founded on the principal that a one to one ratio mentoring experience is the best vehicle for providing self esteem and guidance for inner city youth. What better way to do so then in the great outdoors? Wide open space is something of which most of these teens do not get an opportunity to experience. Their main program is called R.E.L.A.T.E. (Recreational Experiences Linking Adults & Teens Environmentally) which matches five adult mentors with five teens for a week long single-gender backpacking or canoeing trip. These trips provide teens with opportunities to cultivate relationships with caring adult mentors promoting self awareness, self-efficacy, and communication. They then follow this program up with their G.O. program. These consist of one day programs which usually involve climbing, mountain biking, or snowshoeing. They are designed as a follow up to the R.E.L.A.T.E program and are a way for the kids to continue the relationship with their mentor. From there they can enter their G.O.A.LS program where the alumni kids can move into a leadership role with in the BCM organization. In 2008, BCM delivered more than 2500 program days to teens across the country. This time is almost matched by volunteers that help run the program. Learn more by clicking here.

Created six years ago, the Summit For Someone (SFS) program is their main source of income. SFS climbs contribute to about 61% of their annual operating budget. And a whopping 100% of the SFS programs proceeds go directly to benefit Big City Mountaineers. Without this fundraiser they would simply not be able to survive. Since all of us climbers are volunteers their operations are low. If you were to contribute one dollar to my climb-$.77 goes directly to BCM and only $.23 of that dollar goes to operating the SFS program.

When I was a kid I had the fortune of having a complete family structure and woods outside my back yard to play in. I would spend days in those woods running around and building forts with my older siblings only to be recalled back for dinner by our screaming mother. (how trusting they were back then). At the time I was just being a kid. However, when I look back on it now I was learning self reliance in the great outdoors with those that were older than me. Now its my turn to be the older person and give back.

Help Big City Mountaineers do the same.

There is Will, There is Way

"If we are sometimes at pain when realizing within what narrow range of latitude mankind reaches finer development it is added humiliation to experience our marked limitation in altitude. At fourteen thousand feet, little is left me but bodily appetite and impression of sense"

-Clarence King 1873

In 1873, Clarence King, then a young man of twenty nine, had finally attained his goal. He was standing on "The highest peak in all the land". Many years before in 1864, while serving on the California State Geological Survey he had spotted that same peak from six miles north atop Mount Tyndall-a peak he had thought at the time to be the highest. Upon discovering a higher peak to the south he named this high peek in honor of his survey leader Professor Josiah Dwight Whitney. Three attempts and nine years later Clarence King would finally set foot upon the summit of "Mt. Whitney" on a clear day in September 1873.

Little was known about mountaineering in those days. If someone wanted to climb a mountain all they needed was a rope and will to go. Nobody had been there before so there was no precedence or standards to guide you. There was no safety equipment or guides to provide safe passage. Every step taken on such a journey was a fine line between failing and succeeding. King was a unique individual in the fact that he faced the unknown with great stride and imagination. He simply looked up and through the great sea of precipice, stone, and danger he found a way to the top. Such singular vision is motivation for great accomplishments.

A little over three weeks ago I signed on to such a journey. In late April of this year I will attempt what Mr. King took three tries to do. But this time the route is laid out and I will have the knowledge of hundreds of people before me to get me there. This time, however, I will only have one try to do it. For many having one try at all is enough to change a life. My motivation is not the singular glory of accomplishment but a bigger cause: those unfortunate enough to not have the opportunity to try.

In the next four months I will train, attain the necessary equipment, and raise money for a Summit For Someone benefit climb of Mt. Whitney. The funds I raise will support Big City Mountaineers who mentor inner city youth on wilderness trips throughout the country. Like King my challenge is the same. I have never climbed a mountain of this stature before. To train, raise funds and gear up in the time allowed will be a difficult journey.

From where I sit now I do not know the path to the end of all this. But like King before me I must try. Join me as I make this journey. These pages will be for you-all those that support me in this cause.

I propose to make this an active discussion medium. So chime in and lets start the climb together.

-Swargo