24 Hours of Gunnison Glory: Lots to Work With

Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up is pleased to offer several guest posts by event organizer Alec Solimeo on his experience with the 2nd Annual 24 Hours of Gunnison Glory. In this episode, Alec offers some event history and describes the event location.

24 Hours of Gunnison Glory was developed after I saw 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell competition in Horseshoe Canyon, Arkansas. Unique and strenuous, I thought that such an event would be a perfect fit for the rugged areas surrounding Gunnison, Colorado. Rock climbing is almost like a religion here, so it made perfect sense to host an event right here. Not only would it be fun, but we had several goals in producing such an event:  We wanted to nurture the Gunnison climbing community and we wanted to support worthwhile local and national organizations.

For 2010 we selected three charities to support:  Six Points, the Gunnison Valley Climbers Coalition and Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up. Six Points is a private, not for profit organization that provides services to developmentally disabled adults in Colorado’s Gunnison and Hinsdale Counties. The creation of a Gunnison Valley Climbers Coalition aims to cultivate the climbing community in the Gunnison area. Finally, Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up is a climbing-focused charity event that benefits African children with AIDS.

Thankfully, we have a lot to work with to make the 2nd Annual 24 Hours of Gunnison Glory successful, including a great climbing spot, great people and killer partners.  The event will be held at the 8000 acre Hartman Rock Recreation Area, a Western Colorado climbing spot that that features Precambrian granite climbing and offers something for everyone. Our volunteers are the strength of what makes 24 GG special and of course nothing would happen without partners like Western State College, the City of Gunnison, Rock N Roll Sports and Evolve Sports.

In my next episode, I’ll get into the event itself.

Alec Solimeo