8th Annual Summit For Life Raises Over $140,000 for Organ Donation and Prepares for 2014 Event

Online, May 8, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Summit for Life is a weekend long celebration of life hosted by the Chris Klug Foundation www.chrisklugfoundation.org in beautiful Aspen, Colorado that is highlighted by a truly unique nighttime uphill race to the top of Aspen Mountain. The proceeds go to the foundation dedicate to promoting and educating people about lifesaving organ and tissue donation.

The 8th annual Aspen Summit for Life was held on December 7th 2013 and raised over $142,000 to benefit our mission of saving lives by increasing awareness about organ & tissue donation. Congratulations to the 2013 Aspen Summit for Life participants, thank you! This year as every year not only was their great community support and outreach participating in the race but donor families, living donors and transplant recipients also participated in the event and in the weekend celebration. To climb Aspen mountain with the amount of vertical gain, and a the high altitude it sits, topping out at over 11,000 feet is an achievement for anyone, but for someone who has undergone a organ transplant and the invasive surgery required this is an outstanding achievement.

This is a very extraordinary race where contestants climb from the base of Aspen Mountain at the Silver Queen Gondola to the top at the Sundeck restaurant. The total uphill gain of the climb is 3,267 vertical feet covering 2.5 miles uphill and at night! Seeing the stream of headlights spread out across the mountain is truly a unique site, and looking down on the town of Aspen aglow in its winter warmth is very special and something contestants say they will never forget. There are two divisions, a recreation and a competitive, recreation racers climb at their own pace usually in groups as a fun outing to supports the cause and get some exercise. The race division however is very competitive with racers going at a breathtaking speed and winning times of under an hour, pushing their bodies to the limit. All contestantsuse their own lighting and non-motorized equipment like KahtoolaMicrospikes, climbing skins, snowshoes or other winter uphill gear. All physical abilities and ages are welcome to participate with several organ transplant recipients participating every year! When racers and supporters reach the summit, dinner will be provided by The Little Nell along with live music, a raffle with great prizes, and awards presented by liver recipient and Olympic Bronze Medalist Chris Klug, every year this is a great party and something not to be missed. All participants will receive a stocked racer bag full of goodies and top fundraisers and top racers will receive special prizes!

The race has become a popular annual tradition for the Aspen community, the Chris Klug Foundation and for many organ donors, and organ transplant recipients. There will be a dinner on Friday night at a select Aspen restaurant followed by a pre-party that is always a blast, last year the party was at the world famous Sky Bar. This year the dinner and pre party and race will be held on December 5-6 2014, we look forward to seeing you there!