The Kootenay Climbing Association has received a huge boost with a donation of $35,000 from Armada Skis and the family of the late Travis Steeger to go towards construction of a new climbing gym.
Steeger was a young up-and-coming skier whose life was tragically cut short five years ago this weekend, when he was killed by a drunk driver on his 19th birthday. Armada developed the TST ski with input from Steeger and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each pair are donated to the Travis Steeger Memorial Fund.
Steeger was an extremely active and outgoing young man who just loved “catching air,” whether at the ski hill, on the trampoline, mountain biking, diving, or bouldering. He was very comfortable in the air and would take every opportunity to practice. Both Steeger and his brother Dustin benefitted from climbing instruction, as did so many of their peers. The family (Chris, Marlene and Dustin) wants to support a local group that will continue to provide these types of opportunities.
“Travis would 100 per cent approve of the climbing gym as an initiative worth supporting to help build skills, confidence and camaraderie among local youth,” said Marlene.
A key focus of the Kootenay Climbing Association will be to provide programming and opportunities for youth. The group’s vision is to create a social and recreational space that celebrates the mountain lifestyle.
“We are honoured and extremely grateful to the family and Armada for this very generous contribution,” said KCA president Shawn Tasker.
“This is a major step towards meeting our fundraising target to proceed with construction of the gym.”
The KCA has now raised over $132,000 for the project.
“We have just completed the engineering design and the next step will be to develop a detailed construction budget and schedule, and start sourcing materials. We are excited about the potential to use local materials and people for a large portion of the build,” Scott Jeffery, KCA’s design lead said. “Project construction is expected to start this spring.”
The Kootenay Climbing Association is a non-profit society with the mandate of developing and operating an indoor climbing wall in the Kootenays. For more information on the Kootenay Climbing Association visit www.kootenayclimbing.com, www.facebook.com/KootenayClimbingAssociation or email to info@kootenayclimbing.com.