The outdoors has a cover charge. A harness, helmet, rope, and shoes run four figures. Add transport, permits, instruction, and meals, and a single season outside costs more than many families can spend. So the sober men and women who would gain the most from the mountains, the confidence, the grit, the quiet, almost never reach them.

ASCEND exists to tear that wall down.

We do it two ways. Donated gear gets safety checked, cleaned, and matched to a sober individual who needs it. Money funds the rest: the van, the permits, the instructors, the food, the days on trail where the gear actually gets used. If you are sober and cannot afford to join we will cover the fee, if you don't have the gear we will let you borrow ours. No gear sits idle.

I found that moving to Denver as a sober person with no network can be very challenging, I got a lot out of AA meetings but they were never really close friends because of the age difference and the fact that we were interested in vastly different sports, I was into adrenaline sports like mountain biking, skiing, climbing, cliff jumping, camping, hiking and most of the people in the rooms were into golf. Theres nothing wrong with golf but I wanted a group of sober friends to participate in the freedom that this way of life has gifted us. It is a tragedy that most people get sober and then cannot participate in all of the wonderful freedoms that a sober lifestyle can give you because they are priced out of these events ( I recently saw an ad for a sober mountain biking trip that is only a few days with no bike included and they are asking for 3k just to participate) the unfortunate reality is most people who are newly sober and need these exciting events and connections cannot join because of the high barrier of entry for climbing, skiing and mountain biking.

The barrier to entry for most of these sports is around $5,000 which most people in early sobriety have never even seen that much let alone have it to put into fun. We want to reward sobriety and help sober individuals find a community and have the ability to participate in these events weather they have the money to do so or not. We make the outdoors accessible to everyone not just the rich. We want people who have fought for a new way of life to have the freedom to experience the beautiful rewards of having a highly active outdoors sober community and the ability to participate in all of the activities (if you cannot afford the gear we will supply it). Thank you to everyone who supports us and makes all of this possible, we truly appreciate your generosity.

This campaign funds ASCEND's first season, and every donor here is a founding supporter.

We set our goal at $100,000 because that is what it costs to run all of our events for the first year:

$20000 · Life-safety gear bought new: harnesses, helmets, ropes. We never send a kid up on donated life-safety equipment we can't verify.

$10000 · Climbing shoes, boots, and resoles in kids' sizes

$20000 · Packs, layers, and trail kit

$10000 · Trail days and events: transport, permits, and meals

$5000 · Instruction and certified guides

$20000 · Platform and payment fees

Pick your elevation

$25 · Trailhead: transport, meals, and a permit for one kid's first day out

$60 · Camp I: shoes or boots that actually fit

$150 · Camp II: one kid fully outfitted, nothing borrowed

$400 · Summit: every trip, lesson, and meal for one member, all season

Every level matters. The trailhead is where every climb starts.

Our promise to you: all of the money that is donated will go to helping sober individuals form a positive network and experience beautiful outdoor activities: outdoor activities have been proven to be more effective than medication for mental health, personally the outdoors is part of my higher power and staying connected to the outdoors means regularly planning activities with sober friends, this ensures that you get experience planning these trips, forming a network and learning and participating in new events and activities. All of these have been essential to my recovery and my goal is to help others find the same solution, helping others achieve long term sobriety and not just survive in it but thrive and find a truly rewarding and fulfilling life.

Happiness is best when shared, find a group to create new beautiful sober memories and start to form that entire psychic change that is required for long term sobriety. I have found that creating new memories with healthy friendships tends to make the trauma of past negative relationships that were lost or damaged hold so much weight, they begin to feel less heavy; start to impact my current life and ability to stay present less and eventually we reach the point where "we will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it" this becomes true and we experience true freedom, peace of mind and serenity.

Can't give money?

Share this campaign. Donate gear: harnesses, ropes, helmets, shoes, packs, and layers all have more climbs left in them. Contact Matt to donate gear or volunteer for a trail day.

The mountain doesn't check zip codes. Neither do we.

We rise together.

Matt Shinaman, CEO, ASCEND