Brian Gives Back

We have officially surpassed our fundraising goal! We started out targeting $20K.  And you just kept giving, and supporting this great cause.  So we challenged ourselves to increase the summit to $30K.  And WE DID IT! Thank you.  

  Hello everyone. I thought I’d send a “last post” to recap a few weeks of physical and mental training, an intense day of climbing on Tuesday and an intense and very successful 2 weeks of fundraising for Multiple Sclerosis, which as you know by now is a cause very close to me heart. FUNDRAISING UPDATE . As cheques take a bit longer to post, the total on the MS site shows $25,035 as of now but I’m aware of a couple of very significant cheques yet to be posted which will push the total to $29,635. WOW, that’s terrific and so close to our stretch goal of $30,000. I’m hoping the $29,635 total is like a “false summit” you may encounter when you are climbing a mountain. What happens is you can see what looks like the top of the mountain or the summit and you set your sights on that only to arrive there and see there is another “hill” yet to climb to get to the true summit. I’m hopeful some of you on the distribution list will help push our fundraising beyond this “false summit” to a h...

I am pleased to say that I am back at ground level, having just completed the Triple Crown for MS Climb.  I am at the start of the Ha Ling trail, which for me is the end of an 11.5 hour day.  I climbed 3 mountains, up and down, all safely. Today was about raising funds and awareness for a cause that is near and dear to my heart.  I thank everyone who has supported me along the way.  

Great news friends!  I have made it to the top of Ha Ling.  The third summit in my Triple Crown Climb for MS.  It has been a long and sometimes challenging day of climbing.  Once again I am reminded of just how fortunate I am that I am able to do what I love.  

Hi from the top of East Rundle.   I am still moving pretty well.  And feeling pretty good.   Another peak under my belt.  It's on to Ha Ling.

A beautiful morning.  8:20 am and I am standing at the summit of Windtower.  The sun is shining and there is a nice light and welcome breeze.  I had the trails all to myself this morning - no people and no critters.     I will see you in about 4 hours from the top of East Rundle

Hello friends. I hope you have enjoyed a great weekend. We are experiencing unseasonably hot weather (30 C plus) in the Bow Valley around Canmore. That’s great for going to Quarry Lake to enjoy the very fresh (translation cold) water and catch some sun. It’s not so great when you are planning to climb three mountains on Tuesday. More on that later. FUNDRAISING UPDATE. As of now, we are at $20,710 which exceeds the original fundraising goal but leaves us with a little over $9,000 to reach the new goal of $30,000. I’m confident we still have some potential contributors who have not had a chance to click on “Donate” just yet so I believe we still have a great shot of reaching the goal and making an even bigger difference for some people. MS INFORMATION. My sister shared a thought with me the other day which caused me to pause. Faye said what a difference it may have made in our mother’s life and outcome if she had access to some of the treatments which are available today for people w...

Today was a big training and preparation day as for the first time I set out to climb two of the three mountains in my Triple Crown trio- East End of Rundle and Ha Ling Peak. Great news, as I successfully climbed both of them in about 6 hours. Being able to accomplish this gives me more confidence that I can add another peak into the line-up and complete the climb of all three in one day next week.     From here to the climbing day, likely next Tuesday or Wednesday, I’ll not do any intensive training and let my body recover and be ready for what still will be a long challenging day. It will be all worthwhile as together we will Challenge MS and make a difference.

TRIPLE CROWN TRAINING . When it comes to plans for my Triple Crown climbing day; as Robert Burns said “The best laid schemes o’ Mice and Men, Gang aft agley”. Fitting I should use a quote from the famous Scottish poet because the demise of my best laid plans for the Triple Crown is a 6- week closure to access of the climbing route for Mount Lady MacDonald which I discovered on Thursday as I went for a planned training climb. They are doing major construction nearby which includes blasting of rock which seems like a very good reason to keep people away. However as far as my plan goes; Aye laddie, back to the drawing board I go! My next idea was to substitute Grotto Mountain into the plan instead of Lady Mac but that grand idea died after Saturday when I climbed Grotto in 5 hours and imagined what it would be like to follow that climb up with 2 more mountains- not a good idea. Grotto Mountain would add another 600 feet of vertical to the total vertical climbing but the real challenge it ...

I am a passionate climber and am excited to turn my love of high mountain tops into a way to help those living with MS.  Please follow my journey and consider donating to my WE CHALLENGE MS campaign.