INSPIRING YOUTH THROUGH OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES: PARTNERING WITH PEAK 7 ADVENTURES

Despite the incredible natural beauty we enjoy in the Pacific and Inland Northwest, many of our youth don’t have access to healthy adventure and positive mentors. We’d like to introduce you to an organization that is doing something about it!

WHO THEY ARE

Peak 7 Adventures is a 501(c)3 non-profit providing life-changing outdoor adventures to under-resourced young people across the Pacific Northwest. Peak 7 Adventures inspires youth to discover their greater potential through wilderness adventure.

LOCATION

Peak 7 experiences take place across Washington state, including the Spokane area. A whole range of thrilling outdoor adventures is offered, including backpacking, base camp experiences, mountaineering, rafting, stand-up paddle boarding, snowshoeing, and climbing. Experienced guides lead group adventures, and several courses are also offered, such as backpacking trip experiences for middle and high schoolers.

THEIR WHY

The organization believes that every young person should have experiences in the outdoors that help them to grow spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally, regardless of socio-economic standing. This mission lines up with our values too, and we are thrilled to partner with them!

Daniel Shaw, Coeur Climbing owner, has enjoyed volunteering with Peak 7 and plans to do more in the future. Here’s his description of his experience:

I led a trip up Mount Olympus in the Olympic National Park on the Washington Coast. This trip was for a group of Peak 7 students who had graduated to Junior Guides after completing another Peak 7 course.

We spent four days driving to and from, packing in, and climbing the peak. During the trip, I taught the students how to safely travel on a glacier, ascend fixed lines, and place protection to reach the summit of the tallest mountain in the range. We experienced several black bears moving through our camp and rummaging through some of our bags. We had all kinds of weather, including rain, sleet, and bright sunshine on the peak.

I was able to dig deep into the lives of the kids who had all come from rough backgrounds and had overcome serious odds to be able to join me on this leadership trip. I used my background as a climbing guide to teach them many technical rock and ice climbing skills, as well as the essential skills to arrest a fall on a glacier and ascend out of a crevasse. The group grew tremendously together in the 4 days we spent together, and returned more men than kids.

I also led several other climbing trips and river rafting trips with Peak 7, including a Mount Baker climb, cragging at Q’emiln Park and Minnehaha Park, and rafting the Clark Fork River (MT), Spokane River, and Wenatchee River (WA). Working with Peak 7 has been a passion of mine and helps me give back to an underserved community with my outdoor passions and love of adventure.

PARTNERING WITH COEUR

This past summer, Coeur Climbing hosted two Peak 7 group events for Peak 7 Police Adventure League students and their instructors. The attendees were groups of 10-12 high school kids aged 15-17, from underserved backgrounds. They spent about four hours in the gym learning basic climbing movement, technique and terminology, as well as rope use and belay techniques. During their time with us, we coached them to overcome fear and gain confidence in a controlled environment. After being equipped with training, tools, and practice with roped climbing and bouldering, they headed off for rafting and outdoor climbing trips.

We were grateful to be a part of those events and we plan to host more Peak 7 groups in the future, as helping young people discover a love of climbing is something we care deeply about!

If you’re passionate about connecting kids with the outdoors, check out their website! There are many ways to get involved, from donating to support staff members or to sponsor youth adventures, to volunteering your time and experience. Volunteers gain an incredibly rewarding experience watching kids face fears, overcome challenges, and discover their own strength.

We love collaborating with cool organizations and businesses in our community. You can be a part of that when you join us as a member; find more information on our membership page.