2021-22: Climbing 30,000 Meters Above Sea Level to Protect Ecuador’s Cloud Forests from Megamining and Support Sustainable Development

Hi, my name is Peter Shear and I live in the Intag River Valley, Imbabura, Ecuador. I am originally from Vermont, in the U.S. I am a father, organic farmer, reforestation project manager, environmental educator, and trekking guide.

The Tropical Andes Biosphere, where we live, is the most biodiverse in the world. Here in the cloud forest on the Western slope of the Andes we have the highest rates of endemic species on the planet. These priceless ecosystems, and the people who call them home, are under attack...quite literally.

As I write this, local elected officials of our rural, agricultural territory are being threatened with violence and arrest by Ecuador's government. For doing nothing more than insisting that our constitutional rights to water, food security, and a healthy environment are honored.

Predatory, corrupt politicians and transnational mining interests are corroborating to divy-up the 85% of the Intag Valley that is now covered by industrial mining concessions.

As petroleum prices plummet because of the COVID crisis, Ecuador --a export economy country historically dependent on oil revenue-- is turning toward industrial, open-pit mining as a long term economic development strategy.

Some of the world's largest and most historically exploitative mining companies, like CODELCO and BHP, are investing millions to open up our area to mining against the popular will and constitutional rights of the local people.

The stakes are quite high: if we don't stop this process some of the world's last megadiverse forests --and everything they contained within them-- will be destroyed, leaving a legacy of contamination and food scarcity to our children.

To combat this terrible possible future my NGO, Interamerican CASA , is working on four fronts here in Intag:

1- Promoting more productive sustainable agriculture techniques and living alternatives.

2- Environmental Education for children and young adults and water quality monitoring of the Intag River watershed.

3- A legal defense fund and social justice organization that provides free legal aid and financing for legal processes, as well as the diffusion of human rights denouncements through coordination with national and international HR organizations.

4- A native species reforestation program .

These projects are described in depth on our website. This is my second fundraising campaign to raise money for our social, environmental, and humans rights projects here in Intag. 2020-21's campaign raised $28.385 https://assets.gogetfunding.com/climbing-to-50000-meters-...

In order to make these projects effective I am hoping to raise $30,000. A detailed budget proposal describing how this money will be used can be revised here:

But that's not all my friends! I want to be very clear. I am not just begging for money without doing my part. I am pledging to ascend 1 meter of altitude for every one of the $30,000 dollars I hope to raise (1 metro is 3.28 feet).

How? By climbing the following mountains between October 1, 2020 and February 1, 2022:

Fuya Fuya, 4283 metros de altura, provincia Pichincha, Ecuador

Imbabura, 4557 metros de altura, provincia Imbabura, Ecuador

Rucu Pichincha, 4784 metros de altura, provincia Pichincha, Ecuador

Cayambe, 5790 metros de altura, provincia Pichincha, Ecuador

Chimborazo, 6310 metros de altura, provincia Chimborazo, Ecuador

In December I will venture outside Ecuador to climb the world’s highest volcano --and its lower neighbor as a warmup-- in the Atacama desert of Chile:

Nevado San Francisco, 6018 metros de altura, provincia Catamarca, Chile

Ojos de Salado, 6891 metros de altura, provincia Catamarca, Chile

And, finally, in January 2022, Pico Colón, the highest mountain in Colombia (5730 meters). This will be my second attempt at an ascente. Last year's expedition fell short as a team member contracted pulmonary edema and we had to descend. Pico Colón is in the Cordillera Nevada de Santa Marta, a wild, unexplored, and remote range sacred to the Kogi and Arhuaco people. If our team succeeds we will be the first people to ascend this peake in over 30 years:

That's 44,363 meters in total folks. This gives me a little wiggle room to reach my 30,00 meter goal if I am not able to gain all of these summits.

One caveat is that if I don't reach all of the summits named here on my bucket list I may be forced to ascend additional peaks to reach my 30,000 meter goal. It is also important to notes that $5000 of the $30,000 fundraising goal will be used to finance the Ojos de Salado and Pico Colón expeditions which are expensive due to the peaks' geographic remoteness, climbing fees, and amount of time needed for the ascent. However, this cost will only be deducted if this campaign raises a minimum of $20,000. All other mountaineering related expenses will be privately financed.

If all goes according to plan I will summit Pico Colón on January 23, 2022.

30,000 meters gained, $30,000 raised!

$.10, or 10 cents per meter, is equivalent to a pledge of $3000

$.01, or 1 cent per meter, is equivalent to a pledge of $300

$.001, or 1/10 of a cent per meter, is equivalent to a pledge of $30

Please help me reach these goals. By doing so you will be helping to conserve one of the planet's most important ecosystems while supporting a future for its human inhabitants based on agroecology, the protection of human rights, and sustainable economic development.