Whitney Climbs the Dolomites for KIPP!
I’m doing it again! For the third summer in a row, I’m going to climb some very hairy peaks in the Alps to raise money for my favorite charity, KIPP charter schools.
One of KIPP’s primary mottos, which appears on the walls of every school, is "climbing the mountain to college," so I can’t think of a better way to support and honor the 6,400 hard-working KIPP students in NYC than to do some challenging climbs of my own.
Over the past two summers, I raised more than $200,000 by climbing five Alps giants: Mt. Blanc, the Matterhorn, Eiger, Jungfrau and Monch (click here for pics and details). To top that, next month I’m heading to a different part of the Alps, Italy's Dolomites, a few hours from Venice. I've hired a top-notch professional guide and, over three days from July 15-17, we're going to be tackling numerous routes up the most iconic formation in the Dolomites, the Tre Cime di Lavaredo ("three peaks of Lavaredo").
The Peaks
There are an almost infinite number of routes up these peaks - here are pics of three that we plan to tackle:
(Große Zinne Normalweg)
(Westliche Zinne Nordwand - Cassin)
(Kleine Zinne - Gelbe Kante)
These climbs will be very challenging for an inexperienced climber (and old geezer) like me, which is why I pay a lot of money for a world-class guide who knows these routes cold, to whom I'm roped at all times! I'm also going to be training like a madman for the next three weeks (I depart for Italy on June 28) so I just joined Steep Rock Bouldering (a few blocks from my apartment) and aim to climb every day to build my technique, strength and endurance, and get my hands nicely calloused. I am doing routes there that are more technically challenging than the rated routes in the pics above - but there's a huge difference between a one-minute route in a rock gym with a short drop to the mat vs. a many-hour climb on an exposed face with heart-stopping drops the entire way!
Serving on KIPP NYC's board for nearly two decades, I've seen firsthand the transformative education the schools provide, so I would be grateful if you would make a donation to KIPP to support my climbs and help more KIPP students make it to and through college.
THANK YOU!KIPP NYC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. To the fullest extent of the law, your gift is 100% tax-deductible. KIPP NY, Inc.'s EIN number is 20-3971209.