The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Skafidas fundraiser a success
[ by Dawne Belloise ]Tim Skafidas has been an avid fundraiser for Living Journeys since 2009 and was part of their Ski for Hope program and he smiles that he has all the shirts to prove it. Earlier this year, Tim had attended a meeting with Living Journeys to develop a concept for a personal fund-raising challenge. His brainstorm created the 500,000 vertical challenge because he felt it was something he could actually accomplish before the deadline of November 27 he had set for himself. Tim completed that challenge, ascending half a million vertical feet, on Monday, August 18, 132 days from when he started on April 7, the day the ski lifts closed on the mountain. All of his vertical ascent, equal to approximately 95 miles, was accomplished by human powered energy and not lift or motorized assist.
Although most of the ascents were here in Crested Butte, Tim had returned to New England for a visit in New Hampshire and Vermont, intending to rack up some vertical there as well but he explains that the soggy weather interfered with those plans. “It rained 21 of the 23 days that I was there. It was the most rain they ever had in May in that area.” Compounding the weather issues, Tim suffered a back injury while he was there. However, he still managed to combine running, biking, and hiking to increase his vertical numbers.
When he returned to Crested Butte on May 24, having worked through his back injury, Tim picked up the pace. “It took some work to get back to cranking on that vertical,” he says, in addition to battling through the stormy spring weather at elevation with hail, snow, rain, and then smoke from all the fires. “It hindered me a little, but I’ve been lucky with the weather and that has been conducive to the goal.” Tim had been getting up daily at 5:30 a.m. to enable him to continue adding onto the vertical before going to work as a personal trainer. “I was doing some running with Rocky,” he says of his five-year old Husky fur-buddy.
His final endeavor to complete the 500,000-foot goal ended with a final hike and run up Mt. CB. “I live at the base, so I’ve been up to the peak at least 20 times and that’s where I got a lot of my vertical because it was easy access for me,” he says. “Between April 7 when I started and August 18, I averaged 3,760 vertical feet per day.” His best time was an hour and ten minutes from base to peak. “I ended up losing about 25 pounds, but this journey has gotten me in the best shape of my life.”
Skafidas grew up in Concord, New Hampshire before moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, to earn a degree in exercise physiology at Colorado State University (CSU). Growing up with severe asthma, Tim says he dreamt of big days in the Rocky Mountains and eventually found his dream in Crested Butte. With the clean air and environment Tim says he overcame his childhood asthma and accomplished the goals he had set for himself like climbing all 54 of Colorado fourteeners, racing mountain bikes, skiing, and rock climbing. He discovered a love for running and competes in many events including ultramarathons. After training for decades, Tim now puts most of his summer season emphasis on mountain running and biking.
Completing his challenge of half a million vertical feet last week, Tim will continue his fundraising efforts for Living Journeys. He explains, “I’ve lost many friends to cancer as well as my father and have seen the difficulties it presents. I have been a huge supporter of Living Journeys and have witnessed how much it helps this community and I’m very proud to be part of this outstanding organization.”
Living Journeys is a nonprofit organization that helps individuals fighting cancer and their families in a desperate time of need and offers some relief from financial stresses and emotional support programs offering tools to manage emotions such as fear, anxiety and confusion that often accompany a cancer diagnosis. Patients with a calm, healthy mental state improve their quality of life and may also enhance their chances for positive treatment results.
To date, Tim has raised $6,000 of his $25,000 goal for Living Journeys and will continue fundraising efforts through November 27. “I lost my dad to cancer in 2012 so this is near to my heart, personal and emotional for me. I’ve thought about it a lot during the tough times in this vertical challenge. Living Journeys serves a lot of people in this valley and this place is really tough to be with cancer because it’s a remote place for any major health crisis.”
Tim is appreciative of all the support and encouragement he’s received along the way. “I really want to thank everyone who helped me – my wife for all the support and healthy food, friends and training partners, and encouragement through social media. It has been the hardest sustained effort I have ever done. It’s been a life changing, transformative emotional journey with lots of ups and downs, which I will never forget and all for a great cause.”
For more information, to volunteer or donate to Tim’s goal and Living Journeys, visit their website livingjourneys.org.
