Whittaker Mountaineering

Give the Gift of a Climb for the Holidays

It's that time of year again. Non-stop Christmas music playing in the mall, every retail outlet turning into a madhouse...doesn't it make you want to climb the highest mountain possible, alone? In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it's easy to get so involved in buying things that we forget to think about those less fortunate. If you'd like to give back this holiday season, check out Big City Mountaineers' Summit For Someone Fundraiser. Big City Mountaineers is a program that sponsors climbs and backpacking trips for at-risk teenagers.

Climbing a mountain can be a chance to get away from it all, even a genuinely healing experience. If nothing else, the kids served by the program could definitely use a vacation and a chance to get outside. Here's how the program works: you need to either raise or donate enough money to meet the pledge amount for the climb of your choice. All climbs are guided and include chances to climb Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, Denali, and more. In exchange for your donation/fund raising efforts, you'll get to go on the climb you selected. Neat, huh? Big City Mountaineers will even send you a fund raising packet to help you start raising money.

If your gear closet is looking a little empty this year, you'll be pleased to know that the climbs come with gift certificates for you to buy gear for the trip. Obviously, participating in this fund raiser is going to be a little more involved than dropping some change in the Salvation Army bucket or even participating in your local Turkey Trot. Not everyone is going to be able to make it happen. However, if you can do it, this would be a great way to score an awesome climbing vacation for yourself while you giving under-privileged kids a great experience at the same time.