Climb for Prostate

UBC Okanagan professor climbs mountain to raise money for prostate cancer research

2010-04-26T22:43:00.001-07:00

Edmond Rivère, a professor of French at UBC Okanagan, recently returned from a 13-man mountaineering expedition to the highest mountain in the Americas, Cerro Aconcagua (6,962m or 23,000 feet), to raise funds for researchers working to defeat prostate cancer and to raise public awareness of the importance of early detection and treatment of the disease.

"Personally, I've done a lot of mountaineering, but this was my first high-altitude expedition," says Rivère, who is also an avid rock climber and paraglider. "I've wanted to climb Aconcagua for a while, so when I heard about my colleagues' plan to raise money for prostate cancer research and awareness, I thought, ‘sure -- let's do it'."

Rivère was one of five people from the Okanagan Valley to make the trip. Collectively, the expedition raised about $200,000 for the UBC Hospital Foundation and the Prostate Centre at Vancouver General Hospital.

"The group from the Okanagan paraglides together, so the deal was to go to the summit and fly all the way down to Punta del Inca, a 40-kilometre glide," says Rivère.

Paragliding from the summit has been done before, but Aconcagua is one of the windiest mountains on the planet. "Of 18 days on the mountain, we only had one day without wind, which blew at an average of about 60 to 80 kilometres per hour, night and day. To fly the summit you need only one thing: light winds on the summit and hardly any wind in the valley. We had a forecaster checking winds every day on Aconcagua at different elevations."

Although not the most technically difficult climb for mountaineers, Aconcagua does present its own challenges. The base camp is at an elevation of 4,200 meters, meaning mountaineers must acclimatize themselves to avoid health risks such as pulmonary or cerebral edema, which is fluid in the lungs or brain caused by high elevations and can result in death.

"It takes three days of walking to get to Base Camp from the village of Punta del Inca -- about 60 kilometres -- and we had mules to carry the equipment and food, which weighed about 60 to 80 kilograms per person," says Rivère. "Then once we reached Base Camp, we had rest days, hiking days and flying days. We actually had a good flight on the second rest day."

After days of carrying equipment from base to Camp One and then Camp Two (at about 6,000 m), the expedition was facing a time crunch, so the men decided to head from Camp Two straight to the summit, instead of moving to Camp Three. Six of the 12 men reached the summit -- a good success rate for any expedition.

"I wasn't one of them, though, because I wanted to climb and paraglide," says Rivère. "We had an emotional and exciting moment at Camp Two, because we got a call from our forecaster Jerry Mason who said that there would be a flying window between midnight and mid-day the next day. That evening we packed our wings and climbing gear preparing for the final assault towards the summit hoping to fly from the top the next day."

However, that night a number of the paragliding team members experienced mild stomach problems and headaches from the high altitude.

"It was really hard to swallow, but at 4 a.m., we decided not to go," says Rivère. "I think we did the right thing -- we didn't feel 100 per cent, and it's a 16-hour climb from Camp Two to the summit, so if anything happens, there are no rescue possibilities."

Although Rivère didn't get to fly the summit, he said it was a great adventure and a very successful way of raising awareness and funds for an important cause. The Aconcagua Climb for Prostate Cancer Research team was composed of individuals in their late 40s and older, all with a passion for adventure and physical challenge.

Last Final Report from Kevin

2010-01-26T20:08:00.000-08:00

January 3, 2010

"Come on, Kevin! You're almost there!"

With these words of encouragement ringing in my ears, I breathlessly crawled and stumbled up the final rocky hump to stand on the summit of Cerro Aconcagua in Argentina, 6,962 m above sea level. How appropriate that those words were shouted by my good friend, Brad Henry who, in November 2007, invited me to join his newly created "Climb For Prostate" project. Those final steps to the summit were the culmination of two years of training, acquiring equipment, and campaigning to raise awareness of prostate cancer as well as funds for the Vancouver Prostate Centre. Brad's choice was a natural one: Dr. Martin Gleave, one of Canada's foremost Urologists and founder of the Vancouver Prostate Centre, is Brad's brother-in-law.
During the last two years, Brad and I were joined by eleven other men, all between the ages of 47 and 60, most of whom had never met one another prior to this challenge. Each of the participants had his unique reason for joining the team. Each had his own wonderful contribution to make to the project. What united the team was a common spirit of adventure and a willingness to put one's creature comforts aside to take a measured risk for a higher cause. We all wanted to contribute to the defeat of this disease which can deprive men of some of the best years of their lives.
Members of Team Prostate, or the Prostate Boys as we call ourselves, come from the Fraser and Okanagan Valleys. All have spent time talking to groups and individuals about the need for men to be more aware of the high risk of Prostate Cancer and and the benefits of early detection. All have spent the last year preparing mentally and physically for the demands of climbing the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. The team tackled Mt. Rainier, elevation 4,392 meters, twice in the summer of 2009. To add an extra element of challenge, several of the members are paraglider pilots and hoped to fly from the summit of Mt. Aconcagua. To this end, we climbed Mt. Baker and flew from the summit in July 2009. Perhaps most significantly, Team Prostate worked tirelessly to raise a total of almost $200,000 (to date) for the Vancouver Prostate Centre.
Our Aconcagua expedition began on December 22, 2009. For three days, we hiked 42 km through two desert valleys. Although the bulk of our equipment was carried by teams of mules, we were challenged by the sweltering heat and dust storms raised by the relentless winds roaring down the valley from Mt. Aconcagua. We arrived at Plaza Argentina, or Base Camp, in time for a Christmas which was unlike any we had ever experienced. We spent the next days living, eating, breathing and laughing in this windy, lifeless, moonscape the height of Mt. Rainier. Only occasionally did the winds abate. At dawn on Boxing Day, seven of us huffed and puffed our way 500 meters up a scree-covered mountain on the south side of the valley and were able to fly our paragliders down to Base Camp in time for breakfast.
December 29th We began to move supplies up steep gravel slopes and ice towers, called penitentes, to High Camp One at 5000 meters where we spent more days acclimating=letting our blood adjust to the thin air. On January 1, we slowly climbed another five hours up to the second high camp where the 5800 meter elevation began to become uncomfortable for all and dangerous for some. Here, team member Dr. Don Scaman, of Abbotsford, was asked to treat a member of another group who developed a life-threatening case of pulmonary edema. Scaman's quick injections of dexamethasone likely saved the young man' s life, but his climb was over and he descended with the help of his team-mates.
January 2, three of our team developed various symptoms related to altitude and decided to descend. Three other members also descended, mainly to support the ones with health concerns. This left six: Brad Henry, Don Scaman, Jim Weatherall, Randy Kolarcik, John Leblanc and me. With a forecast for strong winds from our communications/weather specialist, Jerry Mason, we all agreed to give the mountain one more day. We planned to assess the weather and our personal conditions early the following day and either make a summit attempt or depart the mountain for good.
January 3, we awoke at 4:00 am. The sky was clear, the temperature about -25C, with winds under 20 km/hr, so we began what I called a "stroll", prepared to turn around at any point if the wind became dangerously strong. Wind chill can cause frostbite very quickly at this altitude. As we made our way along the steep mixed rock and snow slope of the Polish Traverse Route, the sun rose and the wind began to diminish. Our stroll became a slow slog in ever warming weather.

Nine hours later, one by one, all six of us reached the summit, along with many other climbers who had ascended from both sides of the mountain. For thirty minutes, we relaxed on top, taking photos and videos and dedicating our success to the entire team, as well as to people in our lives suffering from prostate cancer.

Don Scaman summits Mt. Aconcagua. His partner captures the moment.

Then began the long walk down, this time with gravity on our side. It was a very, very long day - almost 15 hours by the time the last of us returned, absolutely exhausted, to Camp 2. We were too tired to eat, let alone cook, but thankfully, two our mates, John and Don, hiked all the way back up from Base Camp got the stoves lit and cooked us each a much needed hot drink before we lapsed into exhausted sleep.
This unselfish act epitomizes the spirit of Team Prostate. Those of us lucky enough to stand atop Mt. Aconcagua acknowledge that all thirteen climbers contributed to the success of the six, and all should be recognized for their support and contributions to the climb. It is with the utmost gratitude and respect that I conclude by thanking all my teammates for their part in the greatest adventure I've ever had. Thank you Ken Hurley, Keith Britz, Edmond Rivere, Glenn Derouin, John Arnold, Don Parmenter, Randy Kolarcik, Jim Weatherall, John Leblanc, Brad Henry, Don Scaman and Jerry Mason. You guys truly rock!
Although the climb is over, our website, climbforprostate.com will continue to accept donations for the Vancouver Prostate Centre until February 28, 2010. Please help us reach a final total of $200,000!
The Climb For Prostate Team would like to thank The Prostate Center at VGH, the local media, our sponsors, the hundreds of people who contributed to the fight against prostate cancer and most of all, our families and friends who supported this enormous undertaking. You have all made this project a huge success.

This report was published January 26, 2010 in the Chilliwack Times Newspaper

Final Blog Update 4 January

2010-01-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

Late last night, just before dark, I received confirmation from John Arnold that everybody that had stood on the summit yesterday was safely back at Camp Two, tired, exhausted…..but safely back.

This morning, I was up at 6am to prepare for a short hike with Edmond and about an hour down the trail I heard from Brad that Camp Two was just beginning to stir and prepare for the carry down to Base camp via Camp One.

It’s now close to 3pm local time and any time now I expect to see some familiar faces hiking into Base camp, grinning from ear to ear! It’s been an incredible journey, adventure, challenge and education for everybody involved and it took nothing short of the whole team to put 6 members on the top of Mt Aconcagua. Each individual had an invaluable input to the success of this climb, it just wouldn’t have happened, or succeeded without the 13 inspirational characters who left Canada and their families behind just before Christmas 2009.

We would all like to take this opportunity to thank our family and friends from the bottom of our hearts, without their support we would have never achieved the success seen here in Argentina. See you soon!

We Made it!!

2010-01-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Blog Update 3 January

The weather update yesterday evening, looked quite favourable for the 6 Team members remaining on the mountain. They decided that they would reassess their situation at 4am this morning and decide on the way ahead. I spoke with the team at 8am and due to their fit and healthy state and another weather window opening up, they decided to make a bid for the summit from Camp Two – an 18 hour round trip. The timing would put them on the summit around 2pm local time, we gave a call on the radio but nothing was heard.

It’s a beautiful hot sunny day here, +30C and fresh snow on the surrounding hills transforming the landscape around a busy Base Camp as yet another dozen mules bring in more climbers hoping to grab their few minutes of glory on top of the world.

Just after 3pm local time, 10am Pacific Time, my radio came to life, it was Brad calling from the summit of Mt Aconcagua, 6,962 meters above sea level, the highest point in the western hemisphere, Brad Henry, Randy Kolarcik, Don Scamen and Kevin Ault had made it to the summit with John LeBlanc and Jim Weatherall only an hour behind them. A fantastic result for the whole of the Climb for Prostate Team. With the temperature on the summit at -18C, there’s not a lot of time for celebration, just time enough for a hug and photos and then start the long journey back to Camp Two. Despite mild headaches the guys are elated and in good spirits. They’ll be met back at Camp Two by John Arnold and Don Parmenter who have thoughtfully climbed up again from Base camp to help with the carry back down.

Blog Update 2 January 2010

2010-01-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

It was an early rise for me this morning, 0615, stove on, hot tea, porridge (ok, oatmeal, I’m English you know) all because of the possibility of Eddy and Glenn flying down from Camp Two. They needed accurate weather information for landing and it was perfect with almost calm conditions. Unfortunately, they decided to call the flight off, they were still very tired from their carry to Camp Two, a hard but sensible decision. Shortly after their decision, they too felt they had gone as far as they could on the climb and both decided to return to Base camp, another two members of the team reaching personal bests on the climb.

Not long after Eddy and Glenn’s decision, Don Parmenter, who has been trying to shake a headache for the last couple of days also decided it was time to come off the mountain and as I type this blog, through the snow showers, John Arnold is coming down the mountain with Don. It truly is a big mountain but everyone is remembering it’s about the experience and adventure and not just making the summit.

So six of the team remain at Camp Two, Kev, Brad, Don, Randy, Jim and John and I’ve a feeling the next weather update I’ll pass them later this afternoon will make a decision for them. Time is now getting short as the mules for our return to Puenta Del Inca are booked for 5 January.

Blog update by Jerry

Blog Update 1 January 2010

2010-01-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Base Camp – Aconcagua

As you probably know, we took a lot of technology with us to Argentina, not only the latest in paraglider wings and harnesses, but state of the art compact 2 meter band radios for communication, satellite phone, netbook computer, video and still cameras and of course Ipods. All this technology will obviously only run for so long before it requires recharging. Luckily, one of our sponsors, Voltaic Systems, provided one of the latest solar panels available at cost price. The Voltaic Generator is unique as it can actually recharge a laptop computer, a task we actually completed with Ken’s full size Toshiba Satellite. It’s a great piece of technology adding flexibility to my task here at Base Camp keeping all our technology running, so many thanks to Jeff at Voltaic Systems.

I’ve just heard from the team on the mountain, they’ve all moved out of Camp One and are on the way to Camp Two taking the opportunity of a slackening wind this afternoon., With a weather window of Saturday morning looking like the only opportunity for summiting, the climbing schedule was changed to make best use of this window. Because of this, Keith and Ken made personal decisions to end their climb at this point, each attaining a personal best, Ken 20000ft and Keith just over 18000ft. They will arrive back at Base Camp late this afternoon. Meanwhile, Brad, Kev, John and Don Parmenter are going to make a bid for Camp Three today. Early Saturday morning the wind is forecast to be as low as 10km/hr, but Saturday night, forecast to increase to 50km/hr and even more in the following hours. So if any member of the team is to stand a chance of standing on top of the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere, it will have to be early Saturday Morning. Watch this space!

Blog update by Jerry

Blog Update 31 December 2009

2009-12-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

I think it was on an episode of ‘Ellen’ that I saw a women enter what looked like a phone booth, with a thousand dollars laying on the floor, a fan was switched on underneath the booth and whatever she could grab in one minute was hers to keep. Well do remember that plush little bathroom booth I showed you yesterday, well instead of dollar bills, picture toilet tissue…..get the idea? With winds gusting 35 – 40 km past these steel booths it would make for a terrific game show, but you’re not trying to grab or catch anything, actually quite the opposite…..just ask Glenn!

Brad celebrates his birthday today at 16000ft and with winds even stronger up the mountain at Camp One; I don’t think he’ll be having any candles on his cake today. Happy Birthday Brad! Team members that rested yesterday have carried today to Camp Two, but the wind has been very strong which makes it really tough going. Those that carried yesterday have battened down their tent and are enjoying a day off. The team will enjoy a brief respite with the wind Friday evening, which could possibly see them all at Camp Two that same day, however that window is very small and the forecast has a substantial increase expected over the weekend, it really is just like a game of chess.

Every Morning here at Base Camp, a local helicopter heralds the start of each day at 7.45am. It brings in new personnel or evacuates sick climbers or brings in new barrels for those plush bathroom booths that seem to feature so much in this blog. Each booth is on a hill because it rests on top of one of these barrels and obviously after a period of time they fill up. So there you have it, the myth is busted, it’s not just at your place of work that s*#t flies!

Blog update by Jerry.

Blog Update 30 December 2009

2009-12-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

I spoke with the team at 8am and all are well, apart from a couple of minor headaches which is to be expected after a first night at 16000ft. This afternoon I was informed that about 4 of the team will do a carry to Camp Two, taking advantage of the excellent weather and low winds.

With all the team away, it’s very peaceful at Base Camp and I’ve now time to show you some of the facilities that they’ve left behind…..and I can still enjoy! The shower is a real morale booster despite the cost. With a plastic tray, barrel for soap and clothes, water bladder and pieces of shriveled hose, it would give any Kohler product a run for it’s money. Furthermore, if you stand on and trample your dirty laundry, it doubles as a washing machine….great product!

The steel cabinet on the hill, despite looking like Dr Who’s Tardis, is actually the bathroom and take it from me, it doesn’t get much more basic than this! Unfortunately due to minors having access to this blog, I’m unable to show the interior, lets just say an oval shaped hole, furnished with a grab handle on either side of the interior complete this plush little beauty. The 35km wind whistling between the ground and the base…..speed up the drying process!

The internet and phone tent are rather civilized, if you’ve received a call over Christmas, this was where the call came from. Internet costs around US$30 per hour and the phone US$2 per minute.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this short tour of Base Camp and it helps you picture what’s going on here. The guys are safe and all doing well. I’ll keep you updated as things progress. The last photo is simply called, Dream On!

Blog Update by Jerry

Blog Update 29 December 29, 2009

2009-12-29T10:01:00.000-08:00

Well today was the big move, by 1100am all 12 climbers were on the way up to Camp One. Don and Kevin were the last to leave and are pictured traversing a ridge up towards the ice field.

The other picture shows a view looking across base camp and up the route towards the ice field and Camp One about 3.5hrs beyond. A 1pm radio check confirmed all climbers were still doing well, a breezy hike today with winds around 30km but blue sky with a standing cloud over the mountain.

It’ll be a cool night for the team with the forecast low -10C, but they’re all well prepared with their Sherpa gear, Mountain Hardware tents, MSR stoves and as a last resort each other to snuggle up to…..and that’s why I’m staying at base camp!

Blog Update by Jerry Mason

Blog Update - Dec 28, 2009

2009-12-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

Carry to Camp One. If you were watching the Spot GPS yesterday, you would have tracked the team on the carry to Camp One. Hiking through the spectacular ice field up to about 16000ft and for me, the highest I’ve ever climbed. It took around 3.5 hours in bright sunny conditions but with a very fresh breeze which picked up as the day progressed with a noticeable drop in temperature during the ascent.

It’s a long slow but steady pace that gets you there (along with a power bar or two) with enough energy for the 1.5 hour hike back to Base Camp. I think one of the main lessons learnt on this particular hike, was to wait until the wind drops before having a pee, otherwise you tend to get rather damp!

With all the team remaining fit and healthy, tomorrow is the big permanent move from Base Camp to Camp One, the wind is forecast to decrease somewhat making for a more pleasant climb and the forecast remains good for the next week with the wind reducing substantially for the weekend, well that’s the forecast anyway and we all know that can change.

Blog update by Jerry Mason

Blog update Dec 26

2009-12-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

Blog update 26 December 2009

As the early morning sun changed the colour of the high peaks around base camp and I struggled with my contact lenses frozen into their solution, 7 of the team prepared for an early morning hike and fly before breakfast and before the wind got too strong preventing any possible paragliding.

The early rise and cold hike were rewarded by a fantastic scenic flight, taking off at 14,800ft and heading straight towards Mt Aconcagua while the rest of the camp slept below, but not for long as the whole area was soon echoing to the ‘whoops’ and ‘yeehas’ of the pilots as they passed over base camp towards the landing area kindly staffed by Ken acting as airport manager passing wind reports as requested by the pilots…..and all this before breakfast too!

During the afternoon, some of the team felt strong enough to tackle a carry to camp one, stockpiling essential supplies such as food, fuel and warm clothing for the climb ahead. Tomorrow the whole team will head off on the main carry to camp one, but return to base camp for supper. Don’t forget to watch the progress on the Spot GPS. All the team remain healthy, in high spirits and eager to start the main climb in 2 days.

Blog update by Jerry Mason

Blog Update 25 December 2009

2009-12-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

It’s a beautiful Christmas day here, around 30 C with a clear blue sky. A great Christmas breakfast with pancakes and toast was followed by a relaxing morning. Some of the team have taken advantage of the onsite shower, US$20 seemed a small price to pay for a bag of hot water and hosepipe for that tremendous deep clean feeling! If the wind remains light, we may try some paragliding tomorrow around base camp…..watch this space. I think we have chicken on the menu tonight, we’ll just close our eyes and dream of the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

Blog update by Jerry

Merry Christmas - (New Blog Update from base camp)

2009-12-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

Blog Update 24 December. First of all, Merry Christmas everybody from Mt Aconcagua base camp at Plaza Argentina at 4200 metres.

Sadly we’ve been out of communication since we left Puenta Del Inca and our satellite phone refused to work. But here at base camp we have internet….hooray!

Its been 30C plus degrees for our hiking, but sometimes down to 5C at night, tonight it’s sure to be colder here as we are right on the snow line. All the team are fit and healthy and looking forward to a days rest. It’s very windy though at the moment, some of the returning climbers are reporting winds up to 60 mph on the summit.

Everybody says "HI" to their friends and family, have a great Christmas, next report in 2 days, but please don’t forget to follow us on Spot on this blog. (click on the map to the right)

A How-To for the Website

2009-12-23T15:34:00.001-08:00

Puente del Inca

2009-12-21T20:23:00.000-08:00

Team Climb for Prostate have arrived in Puente del Inca, head of the Rio del Vacas. We are pictured at the weight in warehouse where we prepare our equipment in duffel bags for the mules. Each climber has one mule assigned and allow 100 lbs. Tomorrow we start at the head of the trail for base camp. We continue to have satellite problems and hope we can rent a Sat phone from some of the other international at our base camp.

Blog post by Brad Henry

Technology Hiccup

2009-12-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

Despite all the technology being thoroughly tested prior to departure, the satellite phone refuses to lock onto a satellite down here in the southern hemisphere, making it impossible to update the blog when away from the hostal. The whole team are now here and we depart for Puenta Del Inca tomorrow, and I'm just hoping I can continue the blog in someway when we arrive in the mountains. The Spot GPS however, will keep updating our postion, just keep your fingers crossed! The forecast for the next week for Aconcagua is very cold, the summit is currently -35C in the windchill and base camp is below zero every night, so I'm glad I've packed my thermals! Wish us luck!

Leaving the city, getting closer

2009-12-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

If you've been following our position transmitted by the Spot GPS, you'll have noticed that we are now about 80km south of Mendoza at the foothills of the Andes. Its great to be away from the busy city.

Here there is just a free running river, mules, goats, condors and 5
reprobates that stand out like sore thumbs from the locals. We had an
amazing evening flight after a short siesta at a local camp site at
6000ft. Its now time for soup before we turn in for the evening and
look forward to a hike and fly tomorrow.

Blog update by Jerry Mason

Last few on our way!

2009-12-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

We are the last of 13 to depart to Mendoza Argentina. We'll be converging as a team Sunday Dec 20 and then officially on the trail Monday with 3 days until we reach Basecamp at 14,000 ft .

On behalf of the team I would like to wish everyone Happy holidays.

Brad Henry

Ken Hurley - the Eagle has landed in Mendoza...

2009-12-17T11:19:00.001-08:00

Hi All,

After 26.5 hours, no hassle flight, no hassle with customs, long but smooth flight, I arrived in Mendoza. The Andes look smaller than I expected, however it may well be a lack of sleep prevented me from seeing to clearly.

My two duffels were slightly above the 50LB limit, however UA checked them all the way through from YVR to MDZ, no extra charges incurred. By the time I came through Immigration in MDZ, the bags were being thrown on the carosel, I picked them up, then sailed through the last checkpoint without a hitch, meals and all...
Get at least 100 to 200 Argentine Pesos in YVR to have so you can pay taxi in MDZ, and maybe buy yourself a cold drink at this end. Although US$ accepted in SCL Starbucks, and I negotiated a US$ taxi rate of $7 from airport to Hotel, and the Hotel exchanged a few US$ so I could tip the bellhop, otherwise bartering in US$ is much like it was in the Philippines when I lived there. In fact MDZ looks a lot like Manila, just a different side of the world.

Anyway, look forward to seeing one and all here

Ken Hurley

Advance Party Arrives in Mendoza

2009-12-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

Late today Mendoza time (Okanagan Valley +5), Edmond, John, Jerry, Glenn and Don arrived in a balmy 34C in Mendoza, Argentina. The rest of the team will arrive by 20th December. Travelling down to Mendoza can be via various routes, these guys arrived via Vancouver, Mexico and Santiago , a mixture of JAL and Lan Chile airlines. The bagage limit for the route was 2 x 23kg for each passenger, everyone left with exactly 46kg! Not a gram to spare.
But we're safely here and planning some paragliding tomorrow as a treat, right by the city. Here's hoping you're all enjoying shovelling the snow, we're just off for an ice cream!

Blog Update via Sat Phone

2009-12-08T21:22:00.000-08:00

The picture shows just some of the technology off to Argentina this Sunday with the advance party from the Climb for Prostate Team. I've been busy testing and tweeking all the equipment which will be
supporting the team.

Radios, laptops, satellite phones and camera batteries will all be recharged by the solar panel in the picture throughout their time on the mountain. The orange device is the Spot GPS which will automatically update our position every 10 minutes once on the mountain and post it on the map on this blog page, it's accurate to within a couple of meters, so if whoever has it clipped to their belt decides to go for a pee in the middle of the night, you'll see it happen live!

As a test, this blog entry and picture were uploaded via the satellite phone you see in the picture. I've just got to find out who's picking up the phone bill!

Blog entry by Jerry Mason

Climb For Prostate Training Video

2009-12-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

While this was done in August of this year, it has taken me this long to find the video and post it to our blog.

There is a great interview of Brad, John, Kieth and Ken at the Liesure Centre.

Eight more days and I am off to Aconcagua... See u all there...

Link to Picassa Training Video.... Paste into your browser

http://picasaweb.google.com/kwthurley/Downloads?authkey=Gv1sRgCO2cnu20tta0cQ&feat=email#slideshow/5412925906961263442

Biff and Brad Do Flora Swiftly

2009-12-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

Brad and Kevin recently acquired new paragliders for their climb of Mt. Aconcagua. Within a week, they tested their new wings high up in the Chilliwack Lake Valley. See the video here.

The climbing doctor: Don Scaman prepares for Argentina

2009-11-02T22:24:00.001-08:00

By Vikki Hopes - Abbotsford News

Don Scaman was coming down the Bugaboo Spire in eastern B.C. with a team of fellow mountain climbers, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Suddenly, the lead climber dislodged an ice sheet six inches thick, and began barrelling down the mountain, as if on a sled. He was travelling towards a massive crevasse, and he swung his ice axe into the snow, frantic to find an anchoring point.
It didn’t work. His fellow climbers could do nothing but watch in horror, certain their friend would be swallowed by the gigantic chasm ahead.
Instead, the momentum sent the climber clear over the gap and safely on to the other side.
A few shots of tequila and a good rest followed.
It’s the kind of scene that doesn’t happen often with Scaman, but when it does, it makes an impact.
An Abbotsford doctor, Scaman has seen a lot in his 30-plus years of mountaineering, but mostly it has been from the perspective of appreciating the world’s natural beauty.
He has scaled so many mountains he has lost track of how many climbs he has done. They have included 10 ascents of Mt. Baker – seven to the summit – and three climbs on Mt. Rainier.
He has made numerous treks in the coastal range and Rockies, spent six weeks hiking around Nepal, and recently returned from Patagonia, a region located in Argentina and Chile.
Scaman, 58, returns to Argentina this December as part of a 13-member team scaling Cerro Aconcagua. It’s part of a fundraising effort called Climb for Prostate.
The team has so far raised about $120,000 for prostate cancer research.
Scaman was invited to join the team, which heard about his mountaineering experience and wanted to have a doctor on the journey.
It was the ideal opportunity to combine his passion for the outdoors with a way to raise funds and awareness about a crucial men’s health issue.
“Men’s health has always been neglected. Women do a far better job of taking care of their health than men do,” he says.
Scaman was also attracted to the challenge of conquering the western hemisphere’s highest peak – 6,962 metres (22,841 feet).
“It’s always been something I’ve wanted to do. This is as big as I’ve wanted to go.”
The group consists of two others from Abbotsford – John LeBlanc and Ken Hurley – as well as men from Chilliwack, Surrey and the Okanagan. They range in age from 49 to 59.
They have done three climbs together – twice on Mt. Rainier and once on Mt. Baker – and have trained individually throughout the year. Scaman, for example, is an avid runner and also enjoys kayaking, playing hockey and skiing.
He also gets together whenever he can with the three other men he first started mountain climbing with in the late 1970s. They all had an affinity for the outdoors and tackled Mt. Baker together on their first climb.
“We didn’t even know what we were doing, but we made it to the top,” Scaman said.
They nicknamed themselves the Abbotsford Veg – as in “vegging out.” They later took rock-climbing lessons to perfect their skills for the more technical portions of their climbs.
However, Scaman said he prefers basic mountaineering over rock climbing.
“That’s a young man’s sport. You have to be like a monkey to do it,” he laughs.
The Climb for Prostate team arrives in Santiago, Chile on Dec. 20. From there, they travel to Mendoza, Argentina to begin the 14-day trek.

For more information, visit www.climbforprostate.com.

Climb the Squamish Chief at 50?

2009-10-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

August 2009 my 13 year old daughter, Chantel and I took a top roping rock course in Squamish, BC. I have climbed with her for many years in a gym but never on real rock. During the course she climbed extremely well and with high praise from Tim our course instructor. I suggested to Tim that I would like to someday climb the Squamish chief (as it is called by the locals), Tim said I “was ready now” and he would go up as partners. ...Of course I said when?

On the morning of Sept 6th , I met Tim at a small café in Squamish, BC. We planned to climb the classic alpinist route called Angel’s Crest. I had always aspired to climb this giant but felt I was too old for the task. Now 4 months before my 50th birthday I was looking straight up this solid granite wall. The Squamish chief is second to El Captain in Yosemite in the USA as the in highest granite wall in the world.

Angel Crest climb has 14 pitches, is known as the one of the 3 difficult routes and is rated as a 5.10c. This I was going to take every bit on physical energy and mental focus. In 9 hours we climbed, with cold hands, bleeding knees and with a my heart in my throut for an OMG fall on the 13th pitch we made it to the top of the giant. In short an amazing adventure.

Thanks to Tim for leading and coaching. In life it is the journey that is important, not the summit. But I tell tyou he summit sure feels great!

The House Party of 2009

2009-10-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

This summer, a friend of mine offered to host a small party and add a fund-raising component for the Prostate Center of Vancouver. Little did I know how fun and huge this event would be. This friend had just completed a six year project - he had a high school sized gymnasium built in his back yard with full movie theater, stage, lighting system, and surround-sound system. He hired a top-of-the-line event planner and invited 260 people, including all the climbers and three bands (of which one was my band, Head over Heels)

The party took place on Saturday, October 17th and I'm sure everyone who attended will agree, it was a magic night. The room was absolutely beautiful with bistro tables, couches, and amazing lighting. The food and beverages flowed endlessly. The main band, Soulstream, absolutely packed the dance floor. Dr. Martin Gleave, of the Prostate Center gave a short address to the guests and there was a Vancouver General Hospital Foundation table to provide more info to so it was a great combo of celebration and awareness raising. Click here to listen to one of the songs we played.

Flora Flight Fest

2009-10-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

Training, fund-raisin', more training, more fund-raisin'. Getting more gear, training... that pretty much describes my life and those of the team these days. Fortunately, its all pretty fun and exciting.
This Thanksgiving weekend, I needed to catch up on my exercise after a couple of weeks of feeling blah, so I asked Brad H to join me for a hiken'fly up Flora Ridge above Chilliwack Lake. We had a camera and an Iphone and started out with great intentions of photo-documenting the day. However, once we launched our wings, that was all forgotten (for me) in the glorious experience of the flight. Still, I managed to stitch a little something of the experience. Click and Enjoy

Mt Baker - 26/27 September 2009

2009-09-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, only Edmond and myself could make this climb, but with the weather due to change at the end of the weekend, it was probably going to be the last opportunity to attempt Mt Baker this year. So with blue skies and a clear night expected and much debate over whether to take along our Alpha Hike wings with the forecast north westerly at 20kts due to blow up the Palisades Valley we set off from the Heliotrope Ridge Car Park. About 2 hours later we arrived at Hogsback Camp just below the Coleman Glacier, just in time for a beautiful sunset and watch the mountain change to an extraordinary shade of orange before fading into the darkness. This was to be my first ever bivvy experience and I must say I was rather sceptical as to how you could actually stay warm, particularly with the temperature due to drop below zero over night. However, I was amazed as to just how warm you become inside your sleeping bag, inside a bivvy bag. So much so, I found myself wriggling and twisting for many minutes shedding layers of clothing inside my bag, until I was at a comfortable temperature and really snug. But can somebody tell me why, it's only when you get to this stage..... you need to get up and pee!
When Edmond told me it was finally time to get up, I complained, I was so comfortable and amazingly he agreed to an extra 10 minutes, I think he was just as cozy and really didn't relish the thought of getting up either.

We decided to leave what we could at the bivvy site and take our wings, just in case the wind was in our favour further up the mountain and finally set off at 0430 under a beautiful clear sky. Edmond took the lead, but initially it proved very difficult to find a way through the many crevasses across the route. We doubled back many times to try a different route and finally achieved most success by heading to the far west of the glacier then paralleling the Heliotrope Ridge up the glacier. The crevasses en route were spectacular, but some of the snow bridges looked rather unsafe, which resulted in more detours. All the way up the glacier the wind was blowing down from the summit, an almost perpetual katabatic wind which would obviously make for a very difficult take off, so as we progressed up the mountain, the chance of a flight down was looking extremely slim. We gave ourselves a cut off time of 1100am, where ever we were at that time we decided we would turn around and start our climb down, particularly because of the difficulty of the route back around the crevasses. Just as the clock struck 1100am, we arrived at the Roman Wall, a climb which had taken six and a half hours to ascend just 3000'. We took in the view, both north and south, tucked into our nuts, raisins, chocolate fudge cake.....and cheese (guess who had the cheese) and contemplated the route down as the wind continued to blow down from the summit, albeit light. That's when an ingenious Frenchman hatched a cunning plan.

Right where we had our lunch was a snow dome, about 30 metres across, which meant you could actually face into the breeze blowing down from the summit with a small take off run in front of you down hill from the dome. So, we talked it through and had plans in place for an aborted take off and a place to land further down the glacier if we encountered sink en route, with a final LZ planned at our bivvy site conveniently marked with a ski pole complete with pink streamer. Edmond kited his wing as final proof of the take off run .....but then I lost the toss and went first! A great reverse launch followed with a rather loud 'Yee Hah' saw me heading out over the glacier with plenty of height and very smooth air. We maintained comms throughout via GMRS and the streamer at the LZ proved useful as the planned up hill landing did show a slight head wind. Up hill was really the only option, so it was always going to be a heavy landing, but a roll on touch down absorbed a lot of the impact. Edmond flew a very similar profile arriving over the LZ very high and also experienced a heavy, but safe landing.

We found out later that we were the only climbers on the mountain on that Sunday, another team that set off around 0400am gave up as they couldn't find away through the crevasses.

Overall a great experience for myself, disappointing yes, as we didn't get close to the summit, but the flight over the glacier sure made up for that short fall. I guess I'll just have to head back there next year!

- Jerry Mason

Climb to the Summit of Prostate Cancer

2009-07-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

Mt. Ranier 2nd CFPC Training Climb

The Climb Team: John LeBlanc, Kieth Britz, Edmund Rivere, Ken Hurley, Randy Kolarcik, Don Scamen, Kevin Ault, Glen Derouin, Jerry Mason.

There are many parallels between climbing big mountains, teamwork and fighting Cancer.

The difference is, the pain one experiences when climbing is self-inflicted; and one can always walk away from it. While with Cancer, the battle leaves one fighting for life, with few options.

This past weekend, July 17th to 19th, nine of the 13 CFPC team members went back to Mt. Ranier to continue our training journey toward the summit of Mt. Aconcagua and our ultimate goal of raising $100,000 to further Prostate cancer research.

We dedicated this climb to those individuals and family members who are struggling with the climb of their lives, ‘battling cancer’ and to the four team members who could not make it, either due to injury or work commitments.

Special mention goes to our climb leader, John Leblanc, who unselfishly sacrificed the summit and showed great leadership in assisting a team member stricken with AMS. And to Edmund Rivere for his patience in leading the rest of our rope team to the summit.

Mt. Ranier's lower meadows are in full bloom, masking the ever present hidden dangers that lurk above like a 'Siren of Cancer' calling out seductively.

Recently I sat with an acquaintance who is battling advanced stage Prostate Cancer. He described his battle in a before and now scenario. Before he started his treatments he could walk up a flight of stairs without breathing hard, go hiking without breathing heavy, now during his treatments, he struggles to find ways to just climb one stair or even to take a next step while walking.

Like a team of climbers who are roped up to one another for safety and support in the face of danger so too is the Cancer patient roped up to his treatment regimen, his life depending on his caregivers team members to deliver a quality of care that will give them a fighting chance to survive.

While our struggle up a big mountain pales by comparison with the individual's battle with Cancer, the parallels in experience are nonetheless striking.

These personal experiences of cancer go with us onto the mountain, to inspire us with the hope our actions will further inspire others to help us reach our summit objective; raising $100,000 to further Prostate Cancer research.

We urge you to join us in this battle;

You can donate @ http://www.climbforprostate.com/

CFPC 1st Mt. Ranier Climb

2009-06-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

Sunrise on Ranier, as we are passing through 13,000 feet heading for the summit.

Mount Rainier is an active stratovolcano (also known as a composite volcano) in Pierce County Washington, located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle. It towers over the Cascade Range as the most prominent mountain in the contiguous US and Cascade Volcanic Arc at 14,411 feet (4,392 m).

The weekend of June 26th to 28th, 7 of the CFPC team members and one guest led by John Le Blanc tackled this behemoth.

In very difficult wind conditions we reached 4,061 meters, just 333m or 1,000 feet below the summit.

Annually between 8 to 13,000 people attempt the summit, most from the Camp Muir side and the SE flank, the rest from the Northeast flank and Emmons Glacier via Camp Schurman, about 50% of those who attempt the summit, reach there goal. Usually weather and conditioning are the main reasons for not making it. In our case it was weather and safety considerations that turned us back. As a team our conditioning and strength were not factors.

The climbers; John Le Blanc, Teresa Le Blanc, Randy Kolarcik, Jim Weatherall, Kevin Ault, Brad Henry, Don Scamen and Ken Hurley.

We started in darkenss around midnight, at times the wind conditions were so hostile that they would force you down to a safe crawling position as we followed the track around to the North Eastern side of the mountain which meanders through crevasse fields, taking the route that was being used by most climbing groups that weekend.

The mountain showered us with gusts of ice crystals and pebbles, pummeling us and forcing us to lower ourselves for protection.

While we did not reach our objective this trip, (mother nature having won this battle) the team was strong, safe and made the right decision to turn back short of the summit. On the same morning four other teams that followed us had a look and turned back to return to the Ingraham glacier higher camp.

A special thanks to John Le Blanc, who led us with confidence, showed us great leadership when having to make hard decisions and displayed chivalry of the highest class when helping his wife on the last leg up to camp Muir. To Teresa, your display of determination and intestinal fortitude shown was inspiring. To all team members, personally I was impressed at how we all stuck together, showed leadership when needed and shared in the pain and the joy with good humour.

Congratulations to all those who participated it was a remarkable first step for part of the CFPC team.

A few inspiring quotes to spur us on;

John Muir, whom Camp Muir is named after;

"Doubly Happy, however, to whom lofty mountain-tops are within reach"

From Marcus Aurelius; from Meditations

"Short is the little time that remains to thee of life. Live as on a mountain..."

and from Gaston Rubafat

"Climbing is, above all, a matter of integrity....."

and my favorite, Buzz Light Year

"To Infinity and Beyond......"

Yahooooooooooooooooo - Ken H.

New Ways to Spread the CFPC Message - Facebook

2009-06-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

I was recently told about Facebook's "Create a Group" Option. A half hour's work resulted in a brand new medium for getting the word out. If you are a facebook user, Click Here , join us and spread the news about our climb this way.

Wilderness 1st Aid With Fraser Valley Team

2009-03-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

Fraser Valley Climb for prostate cancer team complete Red Cross wilderness first course. Thank you to Christine our course instructor and the Chilliwack Leisure center our sponsor for the course.

2009-02-25T18:20:00.000-08:00

Hans Van Roos joined several members of the CFPC team at the Rotary Breakfast on February 13th. Hans is an avid hiker and one of the leaders of the Chilliwack Outdoors Club. He has also been very helpful and supportive to several of the CFPC members over the years in his capacity as salesman for Vedder Mountain Field Supplies.
All of this is made more poignant by the fact that Hans is currently undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. His courage as he battles the disease was made evident by his willingness to come to the breakfast and offer some advice to the audience. We will be thinking particularly of Hans as we climb Mt. Aconcagua.

Thank You Leisure Chilliwack- Training Begins!

2009-02-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

The CFPC team has started core training in preparation for the Climb.

I would like to extend a special thank you on behalf of the team to the Chilliwack leisure center for their on-going support.

We appreciate your top notch facility to include the pool, trainers and weight rooms.

THANK YOU LaureLee

Dr Cox Visit Chilliwack Rotary Breakfast

2009-02-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

Associate Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia
Senior Scientist, The Vancouver Prostate Centre, Vancouver Coastal health Research Institute

B.Sc. Zoology, Auburn University, AL 1982
M.Sc. Zoology, Auburn University, AL 1985
Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of North Carolina, NC 1991
PDF. Microbiology, University of Virginia, VA

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. The cause of this disease is unknown. Dr. Michael Cox is a molecular and cellular biologist who earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina who began his work in prostate cancer at the University of Virginia. His research program is dedicated to understanding how prostate cancer initiates and progresses and to finding ways of halting advanced disease progression. Dr. Cox’s research is funded by the Terry Fox Foundation, National Cancer Institute of Canada, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority Hospital Foundation and the British Columbia Foundation for Prostate Disease. His work focuses on early genetic changes in prostate cells, how resulting tumor cells respond to growth factors in the presence or absence of testosterone and these cellular changes allow prostate tumor cells to utilize these growth factors to aid development of testosterone independence. With colleagues at the University of British Columbia, he is developing antisense and small molecule drug strategies that decrease the responsiveness of tumor cells to growth factors and has shown that prostate cancer cells treated in this way are more sensitive to testosterone deprivation or treatment with other chemotherapies; first steps in developing effective treatments for patients with advanced prostate cancer.

Liesure Centre Sponsored Wilderness First Aid Course

2009-01-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

The Chilliwack Landing Liesure Centre sponsored Wilderness First Aid Course will take place on;

March 27th, 5PM to 9PM, March 28th 8AM to 5PM and March 29th 8AM to 5PM. For those of you who will attend and have Outlook please mark your calendars for these dates. This will also be added to our Team Calendar. Further information will be posted here as we receive it.

Location of Training:

Chilliwack Landing Liesure Centre
Upstairs in the Meeting room beside the Gym.
Unit #1 - 9145 Courbould Street, Chilliwack, V2P 4A7

Call me if you have any questions: 604 792-9029

Rockin in the New Year

2009-01-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

My band, Head Over Heels, played a gala New Years Eve Dance at the Chilliwack Rainbow Country Inn and the hotel allowed me to set up a CFPC display table. I brought my Imac in and set up the PPT slideshow to loop continuously through the night with a few slides that invited viewers to "talk to the drummer for further information about the CFPC".
I had one gentleman, John Mossinkoff (the lead singer's dad) approach me about doing fundraising for us in the new year. He was very enthusiastic and I think he will be a powerful addition to the network.
Several others were watching the PPT and took brochures from the display table....its a start!
To see the band click here. If anyone wants to set up some events that include live music, contact me at aults@yahoo.com
Happy New Year, Team Aconcagua

It may well be those who dream, do most... S. Leacock...

2008-12-23T06:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Newfoundland is a wonderous, wild and wooly experience! But the most amazing part of this experience is that the people who live here mirror in their spirits this wonderous, wild and wooly quality.

The Newfoundland people are without a doubt an insipiration for all Canadians and especially for our team and the challenge that lays ahead.

As an example; I met a Canadian author, Paul O'Neill, his publisher, Gavin Will of boulder publications and purchased a great history book that Paul wrote called 'The Oldest City'. Paul is 80 years old, he and Gavin offered to deliver the book to our daughter's home in St. John's, but I offered to make it easy and meet them at the local Chapters where they were doing a book signing the next day, they agreed. However in typical Newfoundland fashion the weather in all it's wild and wooly nature prevented us from connecting. Once the storm had abated, later that same evening, who should show up at our front door, bearing the signed copy of 'The Oldest City', but Gavin, making sure I had the book before Christmas... Only in Newfoundland....

I have experienced this many times, in many ways over the past 3 years of visiting this incredible, austere place we aptly name 'The Rock', for in the stone is etched a history of suffering and celebration that runs as deep as the Atlantic itself.

The CFPC - Climb For Prostate Cancer posters and brochures are being displayed in St. John's Newfoundland, at the Boston Pizza and also at the Eastern Health Centre. The brochures will be spreading the awareness, spreading the news and extending the journey from Coast to Coast.

From 'The Oldest City' Paul quotes in Chapter 10 - "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive" - Robert Louis Stevenson. Our journey, like our vision is full of hope, we have arrived....

To all of the CFPC Team members, from the eastern edge of North America..... as I stand on the rocks off Cape Spears, amidst the wind, snow and ice, the ocean spray breaking over the rocks below, to the East is Portugual, to the South the Eastern Edge of Argentina, where we will all be standing this time next year..... A Merry Christmas, talk to you all Jan 5th....

Kind Regards, Ken & Sue

What inspires our Souls?

2008-12-22T09:43:00.000-08:00

What is Inspires our Souls?

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly…who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat." ~ Teddy Roosevelt

PS I keep thinking of the "cold and timid souls"........ brad

Dr Don Scaman joins CFPC

2008-12-18T21:28:00.001-08:00

We are pleased to announce that Don Scaman has joined our team.

Don Scaman grew up in Banff and has always felt at home in the mountains. He has a special love for the outdoors and spending time in nature, kayaking, skiing, and mountaineering.

He has spent his time climbing the peaks of the Coastal Range and the Rockies, with trips to Nepal, New Zealand and Patagonia.

For the last 35 years he has been a family practitioner in Abbotsford and has been a strong advocate for Men's Health issues. He has helped numerous men struggle with prostate cancer and is greatly concerned about educating men about prostate disease and prevention. He hopes that with this climb more awareness will be raised to support research and treatment of Prostate Cancer. ~ Brad Henry CFPC lead

2009 Team Training Dates

2008-12-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hello climbers, I hope you're getting excited about next year and the great summits we'll see together. We haven't set firm dates yet for the Aconcagua departure but the training pieces are firm now as follows.

The compulsory trip to Rainer is July 10, 11, 12 and everyone is expected to be prepared to go to the summit. This isn't for technical training but only for us to do something together as a team and learn how well we work together. Many of you need no training at all while others have not done a basic mountaineering course to learn the basics of glacier travel, self arresting, and crevasse rescue of self & others. If you need the training or want a refresher (there is some cool new stuff that may be good to see)the weekend is May 15,16,17 on Mt. Baker. We do a 2 day course then summit. Ken is the only one actually signed up so far so you need to let me know if you're coming. If you can't come on this weekend you'll need to find another course with someone else or set up another one with me. If you have any questions about gear etc. just call or email me. ~ Jim Ongena

Run, Walk, Row, Bike, Climb, Hike or Fly Challenge

2008-12-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

Come join the CFPC - Climb for Prostate Cancer Team in a 'Run, Walk, Row, Bike, Climb, Hike or Fly - Meters' - Pennies for Prostate Cancer Challenge.

Whether you do your activity on a machine in a gym, on the road, on the water or in the air you can participate in whatever activity you choose, while at the same time each meter you move forward will be raising pennies to move 'Prostate Cancer Research' towards the goal of a cure!

Stay Tuned to our web site for the start date of your challenge!

Come - Run, Walk, Row, Bike, Climb, Hike or Fly with us....

CFPC Event Setup For Donations & Sponsors

2008-12-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

Climb for prostate cancer (CFPC) event is officially ready to accept cash donations and sponsorship. Keith Britz, CFPC accountant advisor will be issing futher instructions for funding the event.

Donations – Cheques payable to the “VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation”
Donations can be accepted through the “Donate Now” link on the Website or through our pledge form envelope program. Donations over $25 will receive a charity donation receipt from the VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation.

Sponsors – Cheques payable to “Climb for Prostate”
Sponsorship money or products can be accepted by each climbing member. There are many benefits and promotional opportunities available. Please contact climbforprostate@gmail or contact Ken Hurley for promotional benefits.

Welcome Back-Dr Micheal Cox !

2008-11-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

We welcome back Dr Micheal Cox, Senior scientist from the Vancouver Prostate Center at VGH, he will be speaking on behalf of the CFPC event and prostate cancer at Chilliwack’s Rotary Club Thursday Feb 12th at 7am.

Dr Cox spoke to our Friday Rotary club meeting Oct 17, 2008. It was very well received with his engaging and humorous style presentation on this silent disease.

Senior Scientist, The Prostate Centre at Vancouver General Hospital

Assistant Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia

Recipient - George R. Richards Endowment for Prostate Cancer

Scholar, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

Chilliwack Landing Leisure Center Sponsor

2008-11-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

Climb for Prostate is pleased to announce the Gold status support of the Chilliwack Landing Leisure Center. They are providing a full venue for the team for health and wellness programs, access to pool, weight and cardio rooms, professional trainers and the their team of health professionals . We will also have access to the conference room facilities for holding awareness forums and meetings. A special thanks to Lauralee Cheng, Chilliwack landing Leisure Center Manager and our own Ken Hurley for arranging this for us!

http://www.leisurerecgroup.com/

Gift from Steve Henry

2008-11-27T10:42:00.000-08:00

Steve Henry, supporter and friend of the climb for Prostate event has donated signed copies of the book , "Younger Next Year: A Guide to Living Like 50 Until You're 80 and Beyond", for each the team member.

Mr Henry is a firm believer of heal and wellness for men in the last 1/3 of their lives. He works out vigourously for one hour every day and at 70 years of age would easily keep up with anyone 20 years younger.

On behalf of each team member thank you Steve!

Welcom to the team "Randy Kolarcik"

2008-11-27T10:37:00.000-08:00

Randy Kolarcik, 48, lives and works in Surrey, BC. He is the manager of a Safeway store where he has been involved in raising funds for prostate cancer research. Randy has been married for 24 years and is a father of three. He enjoys many sporting activities, including hockey, running, golf, and cycling. Randy began climbing many of the local mountains 6 years ago, the highlight of which was his summit of Mt. Baker. Several of Randy’s family members, friends and business associates have been affected by prostate cancer. Joining this team to climb Mt. Aconcagua while raising awareness of and funds for prostate cancer, make this a fantastic opportunity to contribute to a future cure for the disease.

FlyBC Sponsor Xmas Invitation

2008-11-26T19:13:00.000-08:00

Climb for Prostate team:

Book off December 13, 2008 for the FlyBC Christmas Party in the Barn at Eagle Ranch, we are having "Head Over Heels" again and the Barn has been extensive upgraded to provide a better dancing experience. Please RSVP via email if you are coming or respond through the Facebook page. More on the logistics later, but it is a full moon evening on December 12, only IFR and Night rated pilots will be allowed to fly!! We are going Potluck this year.

Colleen is preparing a huge Ham, Roast Beef and vegetarian chili for the odd vegan in the crowd. We will need salads, desserts and appetizers from others.

For more information, please goto to our sponsor's website www.flybc.org

Don Parmenter joins the team

2008-11-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce that Don Parmenter, age 57, from Kaleden, B.C., has joined the team. A father of four and a big believer in making things possible he knows that cancer statistics can change through early detection and more research. I am still enjoying time with my 84 year old father because of his successful Prostate Cancer treatment.

Welcome to the Journey Don !

Dr MicheaL Cox Speaking Chilliwack Rotary

2008-07-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

Dr Micheal Cox, Senior scientist from the Vancouver Prostate Center at VGH, will be speaking on behalf of the event and prostate cancer at Chilliwacks oldest Rotary Club Friday October 17th 2008.

Senior Scientist, The Prostate Centre at Vancouver General Hospital
Assistant Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences, University of British Columbia
Recipient - George R. Richards Endowment for Prostate Cancer
Scholar, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

MNP Chartered Accountants

2008-07-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

Friend and supporter of the climb for prostate event, Meyers Norris Penny, chartered accounts have tentatively agreed to represent the event for tax remittances consultation.

Since MNP was founded in 1945, it has grown to become the seventh largest chartered accountancy and advisory firm in Canada.

FlyBC & Ozone

2008-07-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

Friend and supporter of the climb for prostate event Jim Reich owner of FlyBC will present deepening the sponsorship involvement with Ozone. Our discussions included a FlyBC and Ozone support/ sponsor for the specialty paraglide component of our event.

We also discussed film footage for Ozone promotional

I will keep you all in advised as we progress with our discussions.

www.flybc.org

Climb for Prostate 2009 version 3

2008-06-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Climb for Prostate web site version 3.0 has been released . The website can now accept general donations or in memory of honour of someone special. The web donations are linked to the UBC & VGH foundation. Others news :

Dr Steve Cox from the Prostate center will be speaking at local rotary luncheons in Chilliwack in the fall. This is very exciting and look forward to spend time with him
A chartered accountant firm has expressed an interest to help and may also may have an employee join us.
We will be setting up a formal pledge and donation committee and start our count down to the event.
We have waivers and welcome letters for our climbers and trekkers.

Welcome to the Beginning

2008-06-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

I would like to welcome you to our journey; the Climb for Prostate to the top of Mt Aconcagua, Argentina 2009. Our blog is to bring you closer to our cause, with current news, updates and pictures. We want you to part of the experience.

Our goal is two fold, to raise $100,000 for Prostate Cancer Research and raise awareness through creative multi media .

So far we have completed our website, we have 4 dynamic members (IMHO a dream startup team) , and our startup brochures. I am hopeful with the magic of team work and strong vision we will have movement of volunteers, climbers, sponsor and donors to help us achieve our goals.

Other than our guide, we are a group of men who have never achieved a climb of this character, in terms of time, distance and height. We are also acutely aware the we are living the 1/3 of lives now and our cause is in hope that we can make a difference with Prostate Cancer research.

Welcome to our journey of hope. Brad Henry - Team Leader