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November 11: Climber’s Legacy - Greg Walker Recalled in Fundraising Effort

Over ten years ago, Greg Walker left Durango to climb Mexico's highest mountain. He didn’t come home.

The 24-year old Walker, trailing his climbing partner as they neared the summit of 18,490-foot Pico de Orizaba in late February, 1998, became disoriented and wandered off the established trail. His body was not found until April. Time provided some answers to the questions posed by family and friends: Walker’s erratic behavior on the mountain indicated he may have been suffering from altitude sickness, which explains why he may have become disoriented and incapable of returning to camp. When recovered, his body showed signs of trauma consistent with a fall.

But for most who knew him, a decade has not dimmed the memory of his unique spirit in the least. “Greg was special. He bridged every group; he made friends in every circle,” said Shane Nelson, who has returned to Durango with a mission inspired by his lost friend. “I don’t know quite how to say it, but he was a bright light. And you were better when he was around.”

Nelson, a former Outward Bound instructor who currently works with Bay Area Wilderness Training in California, has organized a “Climbing for Kids” fundraising event in Walker’s memory. The event will be held on Sunday at Lady Falconburgh’s Barley Exchange, where Walker worked as a kitchen manager before his trip to Mexico.

November 6: Climbing for Change - Durango Memorial Reaches Out to Inner-City Kids

A decade-old Durango climbing tragedy is growing into an opportunity for youths who have never seen, let alone summited, peaks.

Ten years ago, La Plata County native Greg Walker succumbed to acute mountain sickness and eventually fell to his death while mountaineering in Mexico. The well-loved, local figure had been attempting to climb Pico de Orizaba, an 18,500-foot volcano outside Mexico City. ...

Ten years later, Walker’s loss is continuing to create positive spin-offs. A memorial scholarship is currently being created in Walker’s name. The fund’s purpose is to share his love of adventure and the outdoors for those who need it most – at-risk students stuck in inner-city environments.

Durango climbers Nelson and Kristy Graves are spearheading the scholarship, and they’re doing it with a plan to raise $18,490 – $1 for every foot of Orizaba’s elevation. In December, they will revisit and summit the peak that claimed their friend’s life. The funds will go to Bay Area Wilderness Training and “Climbing for Kids,” a nonprofit that gets kids out of inner-cities and into the backcountry.

“This is memorializing Greg Walker,” Nelson said. “This is honoring him and his spirit and what he gave us. I know without a doubt that he’d be reaching out to these kids.”

October 17: 2009 Climbing For Kids Season Opens!

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, October 15th, 2008 - Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT) launches its 2009 Climbing For Kids fundraising event nationwide on October 15th, 2008. Climbing for Kids is one of BAWT’s largest annual fundraising events and helps to finance programs that have gotten over 7,500 youth outdoors since 1999.

A growing body of research indicates that kids are spending less and less time doing outdoor activities. But the time children spend in nature determines their environmental awareness as adults. Dr. Patricia Zaradic, of the Environmental Leadership Program, and Dr. Olivier Pergams, of the University of Chicago-Illinois, have described the cause as “videophilia,” a dramatic increase of television, computers games, and Internet use.

The challenges of climbing peaks like Mt. Rainier and Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states, relate perfectly to what so many youth that we reach experience.

September 9: Orizaba or BUST! - Climbers Blog About Their Orizaba Trip

Kristy Graves and Shane “SHOOTER” Nelson have pledged $15,000 to BAWT (see below). To raise this amount they are climbing Pico de Orizaba. Orizaba is an 18,495ft glacier covered volcano in Mexico. By sponsoring them you are directly donating to help inner-city, low income children venture into the great outdoors. ALL procedes go to BAWT.

Kristy and Shooter have dedicated their climb to Greg Walker, a good friend and a great young man who died attempting to summit Orizaba in 1998. This is the 10 year anniversary of Greg’s passing....please help their cause, it can truly change the lives of some very deserving young students.

BAWT Photo and Testimonial Contest

Announcing BAWT’s 2nd Annual Photo & Testimonial Contest! Top three testimonials and photos will win a $25 REI Gift Certificate. We want to see your pictures and read about your experience with BAWT and CFK.

August 12: CFK Takes Dell to the Top of the World

by Kevin M. McKale

When my cousin Pat Schneble came to me and told me he was going to climb five mountains in two weeks, I laughed. When he asked for money, I laughed even harder! Actually Pat’s mountain climbing scheme was no joke as he was setting out to help at risk kids through the Bay Area Wilderness Training project. And I was glad to contribute to his charitable efforts to help create opportunities for urban youth to experience wilderness first hand. (Not to mention that I was more than a little curious to see if he could pull it off in one piece. Being a new member of the Dell team, I contacted the Dell Foundation and had someone help walk me through the donation process and matching funds. It was easy and I felt great about contributing to this worthy charity on behalf of my cousin.

So far, Pat’s been able to raise almost $4,000 towards his $6,000 goal. And that’s not all he’s raised. To show his appreciation to Dell for matching my gift, he hoisted the Dell Flag once he got to the summit of Mt. Rainer. (Pat’s on the left in the orange parka, and that’s his buddy from Ferris State University, Keith Davenport, on the right helping him hold the Dell banner high and hoping it doesn’t morph from a flag to a sail and whisk them right off the mountain.)

July 21: CFK in “Gregory Goes There”

Climbing for Kids kicks off for the 2008 season

With Wayne Gregory’s background in scouting and other youth-oriented causes, helping kids get outdoors has always been a passion at Gregory. Because of that, Gregory will be a fixture on a couple of upcoming climbs of California’s Mount Whitney, organized by the Bay Area Wilderness Training’s Climbing for Kids program. Gregory recently donated 20 of its new Baltoro 70 packs for the upcoming climbs, and has donated many packs over recent years for BAWT’s gear loaner program for youth groups.

July 14: “Climbing for A Cause”: CFK Climber in Local Paper

From Bullis-Purissima to Egan Junior High schools, from Gunn to Menlo high schools to college in Ohio, Caitlin Looney has a new destination – the peak of Mount Shasta.

The Los Altos native and longtime resident hopes to reach the summit of the 14,179-foot mountain with three others on a trip scheduled Thursday through Monday. It’s not just a whim.

Looney and friends are climbing for a cause – Climbing for Kids – in support of Bay Area Wilderness Training, an organization that provides wilderness excursions for at-risk and underprivileged youth.

“This is important to me personally, because my success and character come from outdoor activities and participating on sports teams,” Looney said. “Imagine how nice it would be for these kids to leave their troubles at school, troubles they may face at home or on the streets to spend some precious days and nights under the stars.”

Looney’s taking her climb one step farther – she wants to share her trek and the view from the summit with others.

To help reach her fundraising goal, Looney is integrating mobile (MOB) marketing technology from Mozes, a start-up company in Palo Alto where she is the marketing manager. Whether or not participants sponsor her climb, those who join Looney’s MOB will get a first-hand account of her climb as she transmits text messages and photos from her BlackBerry from certain milestones on the mountain.

June 10: 2008 Whitney Climb Success!

On May 29, 2008, a team of 6 climbers and 2 guides arrived in Lone Pine to climb Mt. Whitney as a fundraiser for Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT). BAWT works with over 200 youth agencies, helping them create and implement outdoor education programs. Working directly with these groups has enabled BAWT to help over 5,000 kids experience the wilderness. The money you raise is used to fund BAWT programs like our Gear Loan Library, Wilderness Leadership Training, and Vanpool. It also supports first-time camping experiences like our Camping at the Presidio program.

The team raised over $22,000 for BAWT.

In exchange for the donated money, the team climbed Mt. Whitney on May 30 to show their support for BAWT. Mt. Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states at 14,505 feet (4,421 m). This is an exciting trip, because the team climbed Mt. Whitney via the mountaineering route. Above the notch, conditions were mixed snow and rock climbing.

We hope that by climbing Mt. Whitney we can set an example to kids that participate in BAWT inspired trips by showing them that anything is possible, even though it may be difficult.

Read the full story here

June 10: New Testimonial - Climbing Mt. Rainier

After reading Jon Krakhauer’s Into Thin Air, I was intrigued at the thought of trying my hand (or feet) at mountaineering. This was an interesting newfound desire given my long-standing fear of heights. My opportunity to explore this came in November of 2006, when I was shown an advertisement in Outside magazine (coincidentally the same magazine who contracted Krakhauer to write the article that became his infamous story) about a group called Bay Area Wilderness Training(BAWT) who sponsors mountain climbs in order to raise money to run their programs. The charity is called “Climbing for Kids.” I conducted research on-line and visited their website to find out more information. BAWT raises the money to provide opportunities for youths from urban environments to leave behind the concrete walks that become their norm and to experience the wilderness. They have an extensive gear library that they provide to people who are interested in conducting the trips, so that everyone is properly equipped. To participate I had to raise at least $3,500 and in turn I could pick from a guided mountain climb of Mount Whitney, Mount Shasta, or a more technical climb of Mount Rainier. Having been to Rainier on a camping vacation once before, and being slightly familiar with the mountain as well as intrigued by the challenge of the climb, I chose Rainier.

I spent the next months fundraising and training. I needed to find appropriate groups to ask for their support of the charity. My fundraising came from a combination of a personal donation, friends and family, and the faculty and students of RPS. On May 20th, the Seventh Grade sponsored a dress-down day for students who wanted to make a donation. Many students and faculty members participated and several went above the suggested donation amount of $2 to amass $565.11 for Climbing For Kids. The generosity of many...

Read the full story here

May 14: Fundraising Deadline Extended for All New Climbers!

As the summer climb dates approach, we realise that the timing is getting tight for anyone who still wants to register. Thus, we are extending the fundraising deadline for anyone who signs up from now onward to the date of the climb. We will not expect you to reach your goal until the moment before you are actually on the mountain. Of course, you are still free to continue fundraising after your climb. So, to make it even easier, if you ended up not fully meeting your goal, we will refund you any money that you raise during the month after your climb. We do not want the fundraising to be a hinderance to your climbing with us! We will help you in any way we can.

March 20: Gregory Baltoro 70, Deva 60 packs win Backpacker 08 Editors' Choice

TEMECULA, Calif. – Gregory Mountain Products, the three-decade market leader in backpacks for the full range of outdoor activities, this month won an Editors’ Choice Award from Backpacker Magazine for two of it newest mid-size backpacks, the newly redesigned Baltoro 70 and the women’s specific Deva 60.

In addition, Gregory’s Z30 pack was named ‘Best All Around’ daypack in Backpacker’s annual Gear Guide, in the March issue. The magazine noted “their most finicky tester called the Z30 'darn close to the perfect daypack for general duty.'"

The Editors’ Choice Awards are given for outstanding innovation in product design, materials and/or performance. Given annually since 1993, the awards honor the products that Backpacker editors have chosen as the best of the year based on months of trail testing by teams of highly experienced hikers and climbers. The award will be officially announced to the general public in the magazine’s April issue, on newsstands March 11.

The Baltoro 70 and Deva 60 are flagship packs in Gregory’s Backpacking Line. They employ Gregory’s Response Auto Fit Suspension, an innovative suspension system that improves pack fit and comfort by using pivot points on the hip belts and shoulder harnesses that allow the packs to automatically adjust to and mimic the contours and hip angles of their wearers. The Baltoro and Deva – which bear the same names as predecessors in the Gregory line – also employ lighter, stronger materials, yielding packs that weigh a half and quarter pound less respectively than the earlier models bearing the same names. In addition, Gregory is using innovative techniques such as co-molding technology, allowing foams of different densities to be thermo-molded into the suspension simultaneously, creating an ultra-clean and super-durable system.

"This year’s winners show that designers in our industry are really pushing the envelope in producing lighter, tougher, and smarter products,” says Backpacker editor-in-chief Jonathan Dorn. “As we found in field-testing, they’re making it easier and more comfortable for anyone to get involved in trail activities. Adds gear editor Kristin Hostetter, who has spearheaded Backpacker’s Editors’ Choice testing for more than a decade: “These outstanding products should enjoy the same sterling track record as our past winners. Readers and retailers trust Backpacker’s picks more than any other magazine’s because our testing is unrivaled in its duration and intensity. Our unofficial gear-testing motto – we break stuff so you don’t have to – says it all.”

March 5: James Brown named an REI Guide of the Year!

We’re proud to announce that one of BAWT’s guides, James “J.B.” Brown, was just chosen as one of REI’s Guides of the Year! J.B. guides for Sierra Wilderness Seminars, one of BAWT’s guide service partners, leading Climbing for Kids teams on Mt. Shasta, Mt. Whitney and Pico de Orizaba. J.B. was one of seven guides picked from over 500 nominees. As a prize, he spent a week in Seattle, touring the REI facilities. He is also the newest member of the REI backpack design team and the official gear tester for REI's new line of ski/snowboard packs.

© 2007 Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT) Climbing for Kids is a fundraiser to support BAWT’s work to get at-risk and underprivileged youth outdoors.
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