February 17, 2006

Presenting: Richard Belliveau - World Traveller, Adventurer and Charity Mountain Climber: One Person CAN Make A Difference!

My search for outstanding people who do unusual and positive things is an ongoing thing. Danielle Weiss from G.A.P Adventures recently put me on to another interesting individual: Richard Belliveau, an international traveller, adventurer and tour leader with G.A.P in South America, who's been instrumental recently in a unique fundraising project: Together with a group of friends he climbed Mount Orizaba, a volcano in Mexico, to raise funds for a project that benefits street kids in Peru.

At his young age, Richard has travelled the world, has led adventure groups on different continents, has worked with children who just came out of transplant surgery, and now he is dedicating a great portion of his time to fundraising for good causes in Latin America. His key insight is "Never underestimate the power of a dream!"

Let's Richard tell us how travel has opened his mind and how his experiences led him to become a mountain climber (with many more mountains to climb), all for a good cause.

"Rich "Jet" Belliveau: International Adventure Specialist & Mountain Guide. Proud to be Canadian"

1. Please tell us a bit more about yourself and your background.

I was born in Surrey, British Columbia less then a quarter century ago – yet I remember recently I was told that I had “aged very gracefully” - whatever that means. We then moved across the big landing strip we like to call Central Canada to the Laurentian Foothills north of Montreal, and I ended up in a parking lot in Calgary somehow many years later with a car full of sports gear, and a brand new oversized backyard… Any more details would be asking for trouble.

Dawson College, Concordia, University of Toronto, Mt-Royal College, University of Calgary, University College of the Cariboo… Been there - done that. I could say I have a V.I.P subscription to the educational system in Canada, but I guess it would be safer to say I’ve attended – or almost – all of these fine post-secondary institutions before finally deciding what my real calling was. I held my first job at the age of 12, and quite frankly I don’t think I’ve been without work for more than two weeks ever since. From serving drinks in Crescent Street bars in my hometown of Montreal to teaching kids on the slopes of the Swiss Alps, I’ve tried my hand at it all. I’m always up for a challenge, and I’ll never say no to adventure. My entire life I’ve always strived to be the best at what I do, and I’ve always pushed as hard as I could to make it to the top. That is something my parents taught me, and luckily it’s something I’ll never forget.

2. You have been travelling, living and working abroad for many years. Please tell us more about that.

At the age of 17, I got wind of my first possible job all the way across the pond in Switzerland. I took the opportunity head on; I applied as a sports monitor in an International Language School’s summer program, and that’s what got the ball rolling. After an intense season, I flew home on the last possible day of the summer break, and I knew for sure the second I stepped off that plane that this landing was only the first of many to come. Working abroad is as contagious as a piece of good chocolate cake; once you start it can be difficult to deny yourself the pleasure again and again. For the longest time, my only concern while in College was holding a job (or up to three at a time!) to make enough money to afford my next flight out. I worked as a rock climbing instructor, skiing & snowboarding teacher as well as a camp counselor. I have opened & managed restaurants, bars, outdoor equipment shops & specialty stores, I’ve even dabbled in corporate sales! I tried all the jobs that seemed like fun, and that’s where I realized I was not in the right place just yet. I wanted to be a guide, I wanted to lead backcountry expeditions & hikes, rafting trips, African safaris, anything as long as I was outside and free as the wind.

"This pic just goes to show we're just your normal, average everyday people who love to have fun. Mike is being his usual funny self with our good friend Mary as the driver simply disregards the disfunctional behavior we keep throwing his way in his 2-passenger cab - which we gladly filled to maximum capacity."

3. Where do you work now and what do you do?

I am currently writing you from the comfort of my suite lofted amidst the treetops in an eco-lodge in Aguas Calientes, Peru. I’m sitting on my balcony listening to the sound of the river rushing below as I watch the sunset over Machu Picchu. Sound cool?! I’m a Tour Leader for G.A.P Adventures presently based in South America, but as of May I’ll be back in Canada running our West Coast trips for the summer – then it’s off to Africa I hope!

When I’m not lying on the beaches of northern Peru or tunneling down the rapids of the Apurimac River, I can sometimes – not very often! – be seen working on my laptop or something that may look like a normal job. I have what most would call a dream job, and it took me a long time to gather the experience required for it, but now I’m in charge of taking groups of travelers from Lima, Quito, La Paz & other great places to the ruins at Machu Picchu, the beaches of Mancora, the jungles of the Tambopata Reserve or the Galapagos Islands. My time off is usually spent on the shores of the Caribbean in Colombia, or riding horses in the valleys of the pre-Colombian Peoples, or even climbing the 6000 meter plus peaks of the Andes Mountains.

4. You made a comment that sometimes travel can be a form of running away and that in recent times you have come to terms with some of the issues that made you want to run. Please tell us more about that.

I’m sitting in a café in Cusco eating my breakfast working on some articles, and I can hear the people at the table next to me talking about where they’re from & what they’re doing now. The question of education has come up many times, and I now remember why it is I ran away the first time, and why it is I keep running no matter where I go. Everywhere I go during my travels, I always seem to find people who have something in common with me. These guys are clearly a bunch of friends who just met here in tourist-town, and they quickly realize they are all – or almost all – on the same page.

None of them have any idea what it is they want to do, and they all decided to leave their homes to come explore the world in search of their real calling. I believe they might understand the concept of running away better then I may think. So I ask them what they think, and I get the same answer I was expecting. “I’m not ready to go to school, I have no clue what I want to do, I’m tired of all the pressure everyone is putting on me to get a formal education… What is so wrong with wanting to travel the world & see amazing places?” I feel the same way; I have run away every time the pressure has become too much for me to handle. Every time society’s unwritten rules get a hold of me, I dodge all the punches & just run away to place where I can be myself, where I can be free to do what I please, and where I am the teacher: I am the one opening the book on a new page in life, and I get to write in it what I please. I make the rules, I make the lesson plan, and I decide if I have passed or failed – by my standards, not society’s.

"Me on the summit of Orizaba with my kids flags flying high"

5. Please tell us about that special New Year's Eve on December 31, 2004. What did you experience and how did it change your direction?

On New Years Eve, December 31st 2004, I spent the evening completely detached up in the high mountains in a little village in Switzerland surrounded by a group of kids whom I had just met a few days before. I was just starting out in a new place, right after my most recent move. I came here to teach skiing & snowboarding for the winter, and I was going to be working with many different groups over the season, and in many different places all throughout the country. This was to be my first group of the season, and little did I know our lessons would involve much more then just skiing. They showed me who I was again, and from that point on it all changed.

That day I stood them up on top of that mountain on the first day of the New Year, right at sunset, and made them all stop what it is they were doing. No more horsing around for a minute, no skiing; not a sound. I said to them "Take a look over the horizon, take a look at the sun setting over those peaks over there, and take a minute to take in all it is you see above that deep valley. Do remember that you are here because someone sacrificed a lot to make it to this point, and that there is nothing out there that could ever stop the world from taking it all away. Be grateful for all that you have, and be grateful for all those who love you and care for you. Think of all the people who would lay their life on the line to make sure you're safe & healthy, and do know that I would do the same in a heartbeat if it came to it. Remember the people you love & thank them for being there, let them know you care about them too, and remember that there's nothing in this world more powerful then the love & affection of the people around you. The only way to measure a man's riches is not by the material possessions he or she may have, but by the relationships one maintains. Remember what's important, and focus on it."

"Some of my passengers & I on Amantani island in Lake Titicaca, Peru. That's my job!"

That day I saw a group of a dozen 15-yr olds look up high, and as the tears slowly ran down their faces, I thanked them for what they had taught me in just one short week, I thanked them for the reality that literally hit me upside the head just two days previous when I came close to loosing the use of both my legs. We hugged & a few of them said some very powerful words, and we were on our way for our final run of the day.

That night around the dinner table, hardly a word was said. I believe every single one of those kids sat there thinking of the people who put them there, and how it is they were going to show them how important they are to them That night I feel I hit a nerve not only in my back, but also in their hearts. I called them the Legends, and ever since then I've thought about that sunset every single day. That sunset is the one that brought me back to who I was before, and that was the sunset that was going to free me of my evils.

I made a resolution that year to only move forward in life - never look back with regret for the things I didn't do, simply remorse maybe for those I did. I chose to live every day to its fullest, and to make sure the people I love & care about are kept close. I decided to do whatever it was I could to improve my future; to change the things I had control over. I've made many changes in my life that I had never thought of before. I spent a ton of time working on my own faults, and I also spent a ton of time working with kids whose problems were the kind I might not have been able to solve, but at least I could put it all into perspective for them and help out as much as I could. Lending your ear to someone can sometimes make the entire difference between a good choice or a bad one. I wish I taken the time to talk to someone before I ran away so many times in my life.

"That pic was one of our first on an epic snow day with our first TACKERS group in Anzere. The kids who were so happy to see the snow were Australian transpant recipients who had never seen snow before."

6. You also worked for an organization called TACKERS. Please tell us more about that organization and what you did for them.

That's when I started working with TACKERS. Transplant Adventure Camps for Kids: it stands for something I have great difficulty putting into words. I spent weeks skiing, snowboarding, dog sledding, snowshoeing, scuba diving & golfing with a bunch of kids who looked death straight in the eye & decided that they were not going to give up so easily. They had fought, and they were our survivors. Every single one of those kids has had a huge bump in the road to overcome, and they all faced their worst fears & gave it all they had. They were the real heroes in this world, and that's where my learning curb took a hit for the height. I had spent months in Europe working with so many different kids from all over the world who had way more to teach me then I could ever teach them about Skiing & Snowboarding - they gave me my life back & I owe them so much.

TACKERS is a non-profit organization based in Anzere, Switzerland. The organization is run by Liz Schick, and the aim is” for the children to develop their independence by trying new sports such as skiing, snowboarding, dog sleighing, scuba-diving and para-gliding and to develop a support network to help their families and each other”. If you would like more info please visit www.tackers.org, and if you have any intention of helping us setup a North American chapter, please email me or Liz!

7. You are doing things to prevent Inca artifacts from leaving the country. Please tell us about that.

There exists a very lucrative black market in Peru for such items as Inca Mummies & pre-colonial ceramics, gold & silver. These artifacts are being smuggled out of the country illegally into the private museums & businesses of some corrupt international art dealers & collectors alike. I knew about this phenomenon before I came to Peru many years ago, but this last arrival brought out many intriguing leads, and I decided to start doing something to actually prevent all these artifacts from leaving the country. Looking at the current state of the situation, one might notice that the very people who annihilated the Inca & pre-Inca Civilizations many years ago are ironically the same “collectors” who are gathering up the leftovers of their forefathers’ shameful work.

"Our entire first TACKERS group"

In the eyes of the government I am helping retrieve priceless and irreplaceable artifacts for the right reasons as their are donated to local museums to make sure they remain part of the Inca & pre-Inca heritage. The agreement with the museums also includes a two-year loan of a Mummy to international museums for restoration & local exhibition before they are returned to Peru in air-tight exhibition cases.

Although I face a minimum 30-year sentence if caught, receive regular threats from some of the people who usually “buy” the items I save, and practically have to beg for donations to be able to keep this going until I can formalize & legalize the operations, I don’t think anything could stop me. Luckily I have good contacts with the local armed forces & am very good at clandestine ops, I do believe I will be able to slow down the loss of such cultural treasures, but without a formal license and some financial help, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay afloat… Again, anyone with any leads or any interest please don’t hesitate to contact me!

8. Then you moved to South America and started working with a project for street kids. Please tell us more about that.

After an emotional rollercoaster of a winter season, I followed the cold winds to South America where I reconnected with my sister - whose energy & outlook on life I desperately needed by then. I came here & signed my life away not knowing what I was in for, and that's where the real adventure started. I soon enough became very fond of our project in Cusco with the street kids (www.planeterra.org/InkaPorterProject.php), and I started spending a lot of time there with my passengers.

Some of our kids come from broken homes & very poor families, they spend most of their days in the Plazas & tourist areas selling cigarettes, chocolates, postcards & other little things... Our organization gets them off the streets & enrolls them into school if they make a few simple changes in life, and we also help them with school supplies, homework, assist in finding uniforms for school, and teach them a few skills to be able to generate some income for them & their families such as leatherwork, arts & crafts and shoe repair.

The kids are great & they just love having visitors, so now there are many other people (not just G.A.P passengers) who are dropping by to help out. We have a psychologist who is there to talk to the kids also, and we provide them with two basic meals per day. The feeling I have every time I walk into the apartment where we are temporarily housing them is just overwhealming. Our program is growing at great speed, and we need to find a new location for the project; we need to buy a house to be able to take care of our kids in emergency situations, and to allow our program to grow. That’s when we decided to do something big… We decided to hit the summit, and for that we were prepared to confront our worst fears & most dreaded moments. That day I decided to turn a regular mountain climb into a fundraiser for our kids.

"Last day after an epic skiing & snowboarding season in the Swiss Alps. I'm on my way by train to Torino (Italy) to catch a flight to Stanstead, England to then connect to a flight from Heathrow to Calgary... Anything goes to get there cheaper! I guess I'm a true Canadian anywhere I go: skis, snowboard & the trusty Stetson always follows..."

9. Please tell us about your “Set for the Summit” project. Whose idea was it and what was the concept?

When I was backpacking through Spain last year, I was heading to the airport in Girona to catch a flight to Italy. I ran into some problems when the flight got cancelled, and that’s where I met a guy by the name of Mike Gage. I believe everything happens for a reason, and that day I ran into him by pure luck I would say. Since we were both in the same situation – flightless & broke – we started making conversation & decided to go hitch-hiking together. One thing led to another, and pretty soon we had become very good friends, and even luckier hitch-hikers! We had three days of non-stop laughing, exploring & talking. It turns out we’re both dreamers, and our paths were simply meant to cross. Mike told me about a climb his group of friends was planning in Mexico, and that’s when I decided I was definitely going to take him up on his offer to join. After we were done our adventure through Northern Italy together, we kept in touch until I invited him to Ecuador to join me on a climb of Chimborazo as a test of our skills before attempting Orizaba in Mexico.

One night I was walking back to my hotel in La Paz, Bolivia. It was about 1 am, and I was huffing & puffing up the hill when a great idea hit me. I saw the opportunity to turn this climb into something not only for my own personal enjoyment, but also for the enjoyment of our kids at IRW in Cusco. That same night I wrote a 15-page email to Danielle Weiss, our Sustainable Tourism Coordinator at G.A.P Adventures & also the coordinator of our projects at Planeterra. I wrote down everything that went through my head late that night, and that’s how we decided to shift our focus to the kids instead of the peak itself. When I checked my email the next day, I got an answer from Mike who immediately fell in love with the idea.

Mike then pitched it to the rest of the group: it was unanimous, that’s how “Set for the Summit” was born.

10. You climbed the Pico de Orizaba, that must have been an amazing experience. Please give us more information about that. What were some of the scary moments and some of the rewards?

I wasn’t sure I was physically ready for this as I was still recovering from a frost-bitten toe, but since it was for the kids nothing really mattered. I had a goal, and I was going to stop at nothing to get to it.

My fight was no longer a solo battle. It became a quest I needed to go on to prove to myself I still had the passion burning inside of me. So I set off for Mexico to meet a group of people whom I had never before met, and to start something I was not entirely sure I was capable of handling without the proper basic training - but I knew I had the support I needed from my friends & family, and that slowly filled my heart with a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time. I found my true self last year in Switzerland, and as time passed, I was finding a person in me I hadn't ever known.

"From the left: Rich Belliveau, Ian Passini, Mary Lenig (formerly of The Amazing Race with sister Peach) and Michael Gage (MGage Studios) on the summit of Orizaba after a very emotional climb. Those are the first smiles we shared all together since base camp a mere eight freezing hours before..."

The day we set off to the glacier, nothing could have come between us & a peak we all so desperately wanted to bag. We were minded, and nothing could stop us now. We had our last meal in the comfort of an old converted soap factory, and then we went to sleep after having a nerve-wrecking conversation over rope team leaders, possible fatal mistakes & the probability of us making it - or not. It seemed trivial at the time, but none of those issues ever really scared me. I felt completely confident I could do it & I knew I had the right people with me. We determined that Mike, Mary & I would be rope team leaders. The rest of the group said their strongest people were needed out there as lifelines, and so we accepted. I then realized I was taking on the lives of up to ten other people, and that began to shake me.

The next morning we got on the truck, and set off through the green melee of trees & rocks to basecamp. I sat on the roof with Mike & Ian, and I could see the emotion in their eyes. Mary took the front seat of the 1952 Dodge we were riding on, and she too felt the intensity of what was to come. We all knew that nothing would stop us from making it to that summit. As we drove up we could see the feeble air violently pushing snow and rock off the icy cliffs. We sat unimpressed with nature's force, blinded by the light of determination. I was completely ready I believe to risk it all for those kids.

Ian had lost his mother to a battle with Cancer just one short year previous, and she was his inspiration for pushing the limits of his abilities. She had inspired him to go the extra mile for the sake of another human being. Mike had been on a stretch of three unconquered peaks due to injury & illness, and he was determined to push it not only for himself, but for the kids at his favorite project: www.kidspeace.org. Mary is real a “go-getter” whose lifelong quest to make the world a better place pushes her to go the extra mile every single day – she would do anything to help another human being. All four of us were at the peak of our determination, but little did we know about the foolishness of what it was we were about to attempt.

We set up camp and stayed for one day contemplating our next move. We made a split decision to break camp and move up to high camp to better our chances of making it to the summit. Mike, Ian & I climbed from base camp to high camp three times with what we judged was enough water for everyone... We were putting ourselves to the test I guess, and we had passed that part with flying colors.

After a day at high camp, we took the group up to the tongue of the glacier to practice self-rescue and anchors. We realized that from that point on we would be responsible for each others lives. We carried on knowing that we were low on water supplies and that we would need all the strength we could summon to
lead our three teams to the summit without freezing all extremities or sliding off a cliff.

"New Years Day, January 1st 2004: The Legends: Zaz, Rich, Claire, Alex, Beav, Kate, Nick, Izzy & Alex - I'll never forget you guys!"

That night we all sat down together & went through the procedures & the food/water rationing, and to our surprise, Mike, Mary, Ian & I were set aside by the rest of the group. They had decided to sacrifice their rations of food & water to allow us to bag this peak - they were willing to stay behind & let us conquer the monster that was living inside each one of us, and to do so they knew what had to be done. Their act of selflessness was most honorable, and it went to show that they also felt what it is we felt, and they knew what it took to make sure our demons would not prevail.

At that moment I was reminded of my usual answer to difficult situations: run away. Not this time I said. Not again, and never again. I told my team again exactly why I was doing this, and I told them why it was so important to me. I reached deep inside myself and pulled out my worst fears & biggest obstacles, and I made a vow to never let those evils take over again. From that point on there was no return, and there was no stopping us. I promised to cut the rope and split into two teams if I saw it fit to make it to the summit, and Mike quickly made the same promise. Pretty soon we had unanimously spoken on behalf of our battered souls that needed no convincing.

We went to bed that night knowing it could turn very bad in a split second if the weather didn’t hold or if we made a mistake. The altitude is nothing compared to Everest, but it's enough to make a person lose his sense of judgement & level headedness.

The stars were out, and the mood was faint. The night would guide us through the better of two evils - follow your heart and push all limits, or give in once again and run away. Neither option was the right one given our condition, but it didn't matter anymore. The clock struck midnight & we just about leapt out of our tents, geared up and got the adrenaline pumping. We decided the weather was good enough for us to climb. We were lucky; the stars were on our side and the night seemed very mild. After hours spent climbing though scree, we made it to the lip of the glacier where we were already frozen by bits. We roped up, said a final prayer, and started off straight up the face of the glacier. Although we all knew the success rate was only about twenty percent, nobody dared say anything. We pushed forward through the cold frigid wind under the very starlight that had inspired this push many nights before.

We fought hard, we stopped, we had even thought of separating for a while, but we decided to push the envelope as far as we could so we gave it our best shot. Just when we stopped one last time, a shooting star light up the sky above. I remember the magic it brought every time I wished upon a star when I was a kid. I think that star gave me the strength I needed to push on even though I was starting to feel exhausted. At that point I believe my soul was touched by that star, and I knew I had the wishes & dreams of too many kids on my back to turn around.

Bleeding from fingers & toes, scorched by the wind & sun, we kept ascending until we had nothing left to give. We made it to a summit we believed to be the one and realized we still had what seemed like miles to go. The look in our eyes was so intense and so disbelieving that there was nothing out there that could have stopped us - not even the worst of avalanches or the widest of crevasses. As we came up to the ridge on top of the volcano, the wind was blowing strong enough it could have easily carried Mary away if she hadn't been weighed down by all that gear!

"The Legends & their leader after a hard day's ski session - life is good..."

A mere meter form the actual summit, the energy was getting so intense that we all unclipped from our lifeline, and I slowly made my way to the highest point where I fell to the ground, planted my ice axe and began to sob like I had never done so before. I cried tears of joy, and I felt something I had never felt before. I laid there hunched over the rocks that marked the summit, and I wept. I looked up to the sky, and there I said it: "no more quitting, no more failure, from now on I turn not to run away, but towards whatever it is I face. I will never look back & run, I got you" I said, "I did it, I beat you!" I yelled. Ian came right up beside be, and he took off his gloves to reveal a photo of his mother he had been latching onto this entire time. He went to the base of the cross, dug a hole & carefully placed his mom’s photo in the ground. Just as he started covering it, a tear drop fell onto her photo. It was the most beautiful sight I’ve ever experienced.

We all felt her presence there that morning as the sun rose over the valley below. We hugged and smiled as we knew we had conquered what it was that could have kept us from ever blossoming fully, but it was not over yet. I reached into my bag and pulled out my kids' prayer flags. We slowly unrolled them, and as I held one end with all the strength I could gather, I threw the other end into the wind and ran across that summit. Those prayer flags flew higher then ever thought possible. As I ran I felt the weight of the futures of all our children growing and growing until I couldn't hold on any longer. Mary looked up and yelled "let go Rich, just let go, we've done it, we've won..."

The looks on our faces turned from exhaustion to glory, and we let the wind carry our kids’ dreams across the valleys & mountains of the world. I felt as invincible as the wind that day. I only wish my kids could have been there to experience the emotion with me. We had won; Mary was right. We had taken a step forward that could never be taken back. I vowed to make sure nothing could ever stop them from accomplishing their dreams.

From that point on I decided never to look back on the things that made me weak, and to never let those demons and evils get the best of me. For as long as I live I promise I'll always look out for those around me, and I will always push on through no matter what. That summit represented the beginning of a new life not only for me but for anyone who is willing to give that extra push. It represents only the beginning. The future is in the hands of those who are willing to do good with it, and I knew the future got much brighter that day – for me and for my kids.

11 Please tell us what was the outcome of the "Set for the Summit" fundraising event. How much money was raised and what is it going to be used for?

This event marked the beginning of a new program called the “Planeterra Partner Program” which is a special branch of our foundation that allows normal people like you & I to create or map out our own event to help raise funds for the charity. We encourage people at home who want to support our community projects to do whatever it is they wish to help out; if that means hosting a local bungee jumping/bachelor auction, a benefit concert or even a bake sale, we’ll be pleased to know that others are doing their part to make the world a better place.

So far we’ve raised 3000$ U.S. with this effort which will in fact be a total donation of 6000$ U.S after G.A.P Adventures matches the amount – as they do with ANY donation of up to 50 000$... If that’s not enough to knock your pants off, you’ll be pleased to hear that there are absolutely no costs involved in running Planeterra as G.A.P Adventures already covers all the costs of our operations & staffing needs through the company itself – therefore Planeterra has no overhead costs! For those of you who, like myself, only took Math until college, that means that 200% of your dollars go to the projects directly! It’s simple: 1$ = 2$, no catch!!! In the case of this event, the funds will be going towards the purchase of a parcel of land in Cusco to be able to build a house home for our kids to call their own.

"Me & Mike on the summit with our kids' prayer flags proudly flying free in the wind."

12. What have been your learning experiences from the mountain climb and the events that led up to it?

I learned never to underestimate the power of a dream, never to forget all the people that make me happy, and never to run away from the things I may fear. I learned that no matter how hard something may be the right answer isn’t to run. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger. I realize that now, and I’ve realized that the mistakes I have made in my life are nothing but normal. I know now that if I don’t want to go back to University yet, I don’t have to. If I don’t want to get a regular nine to five job, it’s up to me. If I want to dedicate my life to helping others & making the world a better place, then it’s entirely up to me. I consider myself very lucky to have the love and support of my family and friends in everything I do.

13. What has happened since you climbed that mountain? Please tell us what's on schedule next for Rich Belliveau.

Since that mountain I’ve noticed many changes in my ways. I have started living every day as if it were my last, and I’ve started appreciating everyone around me much more. I’ve also decided to keep on going with this wave I’m riding. My plans are very vague right now. I plan on climbing many more mountains for charity, raft a number of rivers, and do lots more fundraising. I’ll be leading in Northern Canada and Alaska for the summer season, and I plan on doing some research for some more fundraising opportunities. My best kept secret right now also happens to be what drives me, what inspires me, and of course it is also what pushes me every day to make a difference in this world. Hopefully my work will be recognized soon enough and I’ll have the support I need for the next big endeavor. All I can say for now is “Watch out world, here I come!”

Richard, thank you for telling us about your personal journey and all the insights you have gained along the way. I wish you all the best for your efforts and all the future fundraising projects you are going to be involved in. Keep up the great work!

G.A.P Adventures is Canada's largest adventure travel company and a leader in socially and environmentally sensitive travel. G.A.P is also the sponsor of the grand prize for our first story contest: an exciting adventure cruise on the Amazon on the historic and unique Explorer expedition cruise ship. Visit our contest page to find out more about our first travel story contest.

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