A few years ago, two Douglas County men came up with a bold idea
to reach new heights. Their creation has now taken on a life of its
own.
Climbing for a Cause, a fundraising event with a monumental
twist, pits amateur climbers against a formidable opponent. This
year, that foe is Mount Rainier in Washington. Five courageous
souls will take on the back breaking task of scaling the
sixth-highest mountain in the continental United States Aug.
22-23.
Shawn Tracy of Parker and Mark Sheedy of Lone Tree found success
in building their own commercial insurance brokerage, Associates
Group of Companies Inc., but sought a new challenge. Tracy and
Sheedy, both athletes who found themselves in an immobilizing
office setting, wanted to find a way to combine a love for physical
fitness with a good cause.
“If you’re knee-deep in a professional career and come from a
sports background, there are no more physical challenges,” Sheedy
said. “You want to do something mentally and physically
taxing.”
Enter Erik Weihenmayer, a blind man from Colorado who reached
the peak of Mount Everest in 2001. Tracy attended an awards
ceremony where Weihenmayer was the keynote speaker and was
immediately inspired. He and Sheedy decided that climbing mountains
would be a good way to draw attention to a worthy charity and get
out of the office. They soon found a perfect beneficiary of their
burgeoning fundraising event: Family Tree.
The Denver-based nonprofit organization helps families and youth
overcome the effects of child abuse, domestic violence and
homelessness. Former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer was a huge
contributor, but when he was traded away, the AGC founders saw a
hole that needed to be filled.
They set their sights on Mount Rainier, an unforgiving peak
outside of Seattle, and began training. Tracy spends four days a
week running on his treadmill’s high incline setting with a
40-pound weight vest. Each session lasts two to three hours and
helps emulate the steep conditions on the mountain. It also boosts
the endurance needed to conquer Rainier, where three climbers died
in June.
Sheedy takes to the trails of Lone Tree, spending five hours
running up and down hills with a 50-pound weight vest with another
Climbing for a Cause participant. Tracy, a Parker resident for 15
years, and Sheedy climbed Mount Rainier three years ago, but have
little mountain climbing experience outside of that. The other
participants are tackling their first major ascent.
“I love the mountains,” Tracy said. “There’s something about
getting to the top.”
Sheedy, who has lived in Lone Tree for 10 years, said Mount
Rainier “starts us down the path toward seven summits,” meaning he
intends to climb the tallest peak on every continent in the world.
He fully expects to be able to climb them all in the next
decade.
There already are plans to climb Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro next
year, and Mount Elbrus, the tallest mountain in Russia, the
following year. Even though it’s the inaugural event, the hope is
that Climbing for a Cause will grow every year, and more
participants will know what it’s like to reach the top of a
mountain, Tracy said. A charitable cause provides a little extra
motivational fuel.
For now, Sheedy and Tracy are looking forward to their upcoming
climb, which should net about $50,000 for Family Tree. For more
information on how to donate or participate, visit
www.agcclimb.com.
303-663-7170 |
cmichlewicz@ccnewspapers.com