Nepal Relief Fundraiser

The Khumbu area of Nepal is world famous for it's jaw-dropping sights and sublime trails. Unfortunately this remote region is unlikely to receive direct government aid and so it's up to the mountaineering and trekking community to help them rebuild. With the connections our three members on the ground in Namche have forged, Cascade Leadership Challenge is in a unique position to be a conduit to provide direct assistance in the Namche Bazaar. Please help the Khumbu Sherpa by sharing this link to our Razoo fundraiser and supporting if you are able. 

Nepal Update & Response

Dear CLC members, friends, family, and supporters,

By now you've no doubt heard about the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that swept through Nepal, devastating Kathmandu and leaving the entire region in shambles. We are glad to be able to report that we have been in touch with the CLC team in Nepal and that all are safe and sound. Mark, Kleo and Frances are holed up safe just outside of Namche. Ian and KJ are doing well in Tingri but it looks like they'll be stuck there for at least a week. Harrison just got back to base camp and looks forward to heading back up the mountain if the situation allows. 

The devastation, however, surrounds them and has ripped through an already-impoverished region. The Nepalese government has reached out to the international community for help, and across the world many are extending a helping hand during this tragic time.

As an organization, we are discussing a way that we can serve in this time of need, and examining the different options at hand. For now though, if you are interested in supporting the relief effort, we wanted to provide you with a number of different organizations that are already on the ground and doing important work.

This New York Times article provides a great summary of updates from the region as well as some organizations. In addition to these, the following groups are soliciting donations right now

Doctors without Borders, USA  (high 4 of 4 star rating from Charity Navigator). Immediate medical time-limited medical response. Leads to link to donate, but not specific to Nepal relief.

American Red Cross (Charity Navigator 3 of 4 star rating). Link leads to relief effort needs and summary along with link for online donation specific to Nepal relief.

International Medical Corps (Charity Navigator 3 stars). Front-page with embedded links to relief efforts and links to donate specifically to Nepal Response.

Mercy Corps (Charity Navigator high 3 of 4 star rating). Emergency response and sustained recovery efforts. Direct link to donate specifically to Nepal relief efforts.

Global Giving (Charity Navigator high 4 of 4 star rating) Works with local partners to provide food, fuel, water, shelter, and hygiene supplies.

Introducing Freemiums

Cascade Leadership Challenge is happy to announce our newest event: Freemiums!

A Freemium is a special description of event new to CLC in 2015. In order to recruit more potential members, once a month we are offering events free potential members. Current members can also come along for free as long as they bring a guest (otherwise it's $20, them's the rules). These events can be day hikes, snowshoeing, biking trips, rock climbing, and anything really since we're open to any ideas. It will be a low risk environment for CLC members and anyone and everyone who wants to come see what this organization is all about.

So far it's been a great success with a grand total of four trips in the books (and now on the blog). The January Trip was a snowshoeing hike up to Steven's pass. Unfortunately for our trekkers, there wasn't as much snow as everyone had hoped for originally but fun was had despite the less than stellar snow pack. Numerous encounters with wildlife were reported and the snowshoeing in general was an enjoyable experience.

The February Freemium was a day trip to Ocean Shores State Park. We were really fortunate that the weather help out and it was only overcast and not raining and cold like we had original feared. It was a whole lot of fun to throw the football around on the beach and make "sandmen" before destroying them. We then roasted hot dogs over the fire before switching to roasting Oreo s and marshmallows. On the way back we stopped in Aberdeen at the Sucher & Sons Star Wars Stop. A fun side trip one member brought home a Wookie hat which we all enjoyed very much.

In March the freemium was a bike trip over to Bainbridge Island. Despite issues of it being rainy and windy, the sun managed to shine through and make for a pleasurable experience. The ferry across was fun as always and Bainbridge is an all together enjoyable place to bike around. This was the start of what are hopefully many bike trips to come, including a weeklong tour of Vancouver Island in August and it's awesome to be able to get a taste of what that might be like for free.

Our most recent freemium was a day trip up to Deception Pass with people from Mary's Place. We hiked along the eastern edge of the park and experienced some challenging mud along the way. Watermelon was had on the beach and the weather held out for long enough us to enjoy spectacular views of the bridge and surroundings. Everyone was really excited to get out and enjoy nature after a couple weeks of less than stellar weather.

We'll be doing a freemium event every month for as long as we can. We haven't decided on our next freemium just yet but we'll let you know when we've decided. If you're interested in coming on a free event, please contact info@cascadechallenge.org.

-TD

An Update At Last

Springtime is upon us and that means the CLC "off-season" is almost over, but our lack of posts isn't due to being fair weather fans. CLC has been going all over the Pacific Northwest this winter, shedding out blankets in order to don our best GoreTex Seattle suit. Over the course of this week . we'll bring you up to speed with all of the cool things CLC's been doing to stay busy, like rafting the Deschutes, hiking all over the Cascade's, and the ongoing trek to Mt. Everest (check out the Everest Experience on Facebook for the latest updates)

To start things off let's pick up right where we left off. The Hipster Hunt was a great success. To follow that up we drove up to Deception Pass State Park for our first of many Shaker trainings. A gorgeous drive up was greeted with an equally dark set nighttime set up. Camp was made and everyone went to sleep in order to prepare for the big day ahead of everyone.

In the morning multiple training sessions were had. The new shakers were introduced to all things CLC, including kitchen set-up, tent review, and gear introductions. After a quick lunch it was time for the orienteering challenge, which all groups thankfully completed as the sun set in the west. A fun campfire full of old CLC stories occurred as people peeled off one by one to go to sleep.

The first Shaker training ended with a seminar in packing the trailer and taking down camp. In fact it was such a success we're doing it again on June 5th-7th, once again at Deception Pass. The weather will hopefully be much warmer and sunnier. As always watch the facebook for the newest information. Since summer is right round the corner, we're now starting official registrations with a new aspect, a 10% down deposit. This is so we can reserve and rent equitment, buy permits, and get all the other behind the scenes stuff done and ready for you to come out and learn! For more information on how to sign up for Mt. Rainier and any of our other trips, please email us at info@cascadechallenge.org.

-TD

Portland Hipster Hunt

Trip Report: Fourth Annual Portland Hipster Hunt

Early on November 15th, a group of CLC members new and old  packed up the van and headed south to the City of Roses. With the intention of being able to enjoy Portland well into the night the team stopped to at Paradise Point State Park and set up camp. With a lightened load and eager spirits, the group headed on to Downtown Portland.

After a brief review of the itinerary, everyone bundled up to ward of the sub-freezing weather and headed out after receiving the all important hipster hunt bingo boards. The initial burst of competition quickly lightened as everyone switched into urban explorer mode. Groups wandered all over downtown, seeing many sites such as the food cart market,  Portland City Hall, the waterfront farmers market, before finally ending up back at Powell's Books. Highlights include a beatboxing didgeridoo performance by The Urban Shaman, a very retro arcade, and two adorably yarn-bombed otter sculptures.

The group reassembled for dinner (pizza) and piled into the van to head back to their already made camp. The promise of hot-cocoa and cider lured people to the campfire for awhile, but with temperatures plunging into the 20's it's allure faded quickly.

The only reason to take your gloves off

We awoke to the sound of playful puppy barks. The camp host had two adorable corgi puppies that were desperately in need of love, and we were ever so eager to provide it. In fact we loved them so much that some group members decided to adopt them on the spot, and they ended up in the van with the rest of the team.

With everyone finally awake we broke camp and left for home with our recently acquired canine cargo in tow. After stopping for breakfast along the way we arrived back in Seattle mid-afternoon with high spirits thanks to the CD of The Shaman Man that was on repeat all drive long.

-T.D.

Giving Tuesday

Dear friends and family of CLC,

A year ago Cascade Leadership Challenge was looking ahead to this past summer, and dreaming of the things our program could do. We had lofty ambitions, including sending a team to climb Mt. McKinley in Alaska, expanding our organizational capacity to run three big trips at once, and enlarge our emerging backpacking program. We knew we couldn’t do this alone, and thus CLC turned to you, our amazing community for your support. A year later we are able to look back and say those ambitions were fulfilled, and successful. Our organization cannot thank you enough for the role you played in our continued prosperity and determination. From turning out at our auction, to enabling your kids to attend our trips, to coming on our trips yourself, your dedication to youth development was inspiring. Now, CLC is raising the bar for another year of expedition, leadership and accomplishment. 

Following last year’s success with our Denali program, CLC has launched The Everest Experience, a program to empower 100 local youth to summit Mt. Rainier and to send a team of CLC climbers on a two month mountaineering seminar in the Himalayas. The summit attempt on Mt. Rainier is a two-part journey. The first; a five day mountaineering seminar on either Mt. Adams or Mt. Baker which will introduce basic mountaineering skills and safety to the youth who will be climbing. The second experience takes place on Rainier and focuses on more advanced skills, culminating in a summit attempt.

The youth are ready but we need your support to make this possible. Many of our members face financial restraints, and while we work to keep costs low, we recognize that the financial burden can be too heavy for some families. However, one of our driving philosophies is not turning away youth for financial reasons. 

This is where you come in. For Giving Tuesday we are trying to raise money for ten youth to participate in the Everest Experience. This fund will allow us to empower youth and enable them to partake in what will surely be a life-changing experience. 

What is Giving Tuesday you might be wondering? Well, in 2012 a group of people decided that after Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, there should be a day to celebrate generosity and giving back, thus Giving Tuesday was born. This year, Giving Tuesday falls on December 2^nd, and in 24 hours CLC hopes to raise $2500 dollars, enough money to fund ten underprivileged youth on the second leg of their journey to the summit of Mt. Rainier. 

Please consider donating this Giving Tuesday, and help support youth development through the Everest Experience. If you would like to support our cause, you can visit our Razoo fundraising page: http://www.razoo.com/story/The-Everest-Experience?referral_code=share. As always, we appreciate the support you have given us across the years. CLC would not be where it is without the community that backs us.

For more information on our travels and other opportunities to join our community, contact Mark Steelquist, President of Cascade Leadership Challenge, at mark@steelquist.net. 

Special Report: ArrowCorps2014

Paying it forward to the next generation.

While not an official CLC trip or expedition, ArrowCorps2014 deserves special mention. Over the past six years several CLC members (Ian, Jeremy, Marty, Evan, and Reuben) have been heavily involved with building a program of conservation service in the Mt. Rainier area through the T'Kope Kwiskwis Lodge of the Order of the Arrow, the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. A weeklong project held August 3-9, ArrowCorps2014 is a continuation of that legacy. The following is an excerpted account of the week that appeared in T'Kope Kwiskwis monthly newsletter:

Three crews of Arrowmen completed projects within Mount Rainier National Park and the surrounding Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, while joining in shows and friendly competitions back at Camp Sheppard. 

Strike Team Paradise A led by Cameron Devine traveled to the Paradise picnic area for grounds cleanup and trail maintenance projects, cutting back brush that had crept uncomfortably close over the past decade. Paradise B crew led by Leland Shields also performed trail work along the Wonderland Trail near Reflection Lake and Stevens Canyon. Their work included using weed whips to clear encroaching bush fro the trail and learning how to operate a crosscut saw. As one crew member said, “the view was spectacular and we made it better.” Outside the park, Crystal Mountain Strike Team led by Matthew Gates, nickname the “pickup-stick crew” engaged in seed collection for re-vegetation efforts and cleaning up sticks at a local visitors center for fire prevention and visual beautification. After 2 days of irksome tasks the crew got out on the trail for boardwalk maintenance and trail improvement at Greenwater Lakes.

 At camp, attendees were entertained by Steve and Quinton Lum who performed songs each night and led teams in friendly competitions of physical strength and wit. The running theme of the week, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, was incorporated in all the games and encouraged horrid English accents for the rest of camp. 

By the end of the week scouts dreary from lack sleep and hard work yet energized by great food from the kitchen crew left behind the work gloves and hard hats for recreation activities like field games at camp and hiking around Sunrise. All in all, ArrowCorps2014 was a huge success, with over 620 volunteer service hours completed.

In addition to the leadership provided by CLC members, CLC was directly involved in planning and preparation for ArrowCorps2014. After the enormously successful ArrowCorps502 project in 2011, CLC hosted CLC hosted Conservation Leadership School (CLS) in 2012 and 2013 to train youth leaders in trail skills, wilderness first aid and ethics, and expedition leadership. CLC will again be hosting CLS in the coming years to prepare for the next major project, to be held in summer 2017.

To learn more about ArrowCorps2014 and the rich history of Scouting service at Mt. Rainier, please visit their official website. You can also check out photos and videos from this and past projects, and keep appraised of the latest developments on their Facebook page.

- I.B. with M.K.