May 30, 2001
Climbers peak interest in the environment
Climb-A-Thon raises $1,500 for local River Care program
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Scaling Mount Everest twice, and then some, 37 climbers raised nearly $1,500 Saturday at a Climb-a-Thon held at New Campus School's indoor climbing wall. In 30-foot increments, the climbers racked up 64,378 vertical feet, more than double the height of Mount Everest.
A fund-raiser for the Conservation Resource Alliance's River Care Program, the Climb-a-Thon was conceived by four area climbers with a big vision: raise money for environmental preservation, interest young climbers in conservation and promote climbing sports in general.
From the numbers racked up and the enthusiasm of the participants - many of them young climbers who learned the ropes at the indoor climbing wall - it was a winning formula.
"I think these young climbers did great, their energy when they commit to something is that they go all out," said Tim Barrons, a climber for five years who helped organize the Climb-a-Thon. "They are very committed to what they do and our goal was to get these young people interested in conservation organizations. We are urging them to check back and see what the money they raised is doing for the environment."
Barrons and three of his climbing buddies, Keith Tampa, Joe Oesterling and Tim Jenema, created the Climb-a-Thon as part of their larger mission of preserving the environment. All are dedicated climbers who have traveled around the United States and up to Canada to climb; two of them traveled to Ecuador last year on a climbing adventure.
When they decided on an expedition to Peru in June to tackle Mt. Alpamayo, they began thinking about fundraising for their own trip. Costs of food, specialized equipment, travel and lodging quickly add up. However, members of 'Team Alpamayo' soon began considering how their climb could help preserve the pristine, natural environment they so loved being in.
"When climbing, you get to be in a lot of places most people don't, you can't drive to those places," said Joe Oesterling, who is a member of the team and a climber for five years. "Climbing sort of brings everything into focus; things that would be a normal disaster for your day don't mean anything when climbing."
Their thoughts of personal fundraising soon jumped to raising money for a conservation organization. The group easily decided to use their trip to raise funds for a non-profit environmental group and the Climb-a-Thon was born.
"We decided to give every penny from the Climb-a-Thon to the Conservation Resource Alliance," said Barrons, who hopes that the success of the event will lead to more of them in the future.
After their return from the three-week trip, members of 'Team Alpamayo' will promote environmental awareness by presenting slide shows about their trip to area groups, including the climbers at the New Campus School and the Grand Traverse Back Packing Club.
The details of the trip should be interesting, as going for the summit of Mt. Alpamayo will be a challenge to each climber. Barrons said it is the next step for all of them technically, stretching their skills. Some areas of the path will include an almost vertical ice climb, which will interest members of Traverse City's climbing crowd, a tight-knit enthusiastic community centered on the indoor climbing wall.
"It is surprising we have this climbing community here even though there's no rock here to climb," Barrons said. "You have to drive to Kentucky or West Virginia to climb and my friends and I go to Canada to climb."
"But climbing is a sport for all ages, as long as you can fit in a harness."