Local Vail Resident Climbs High to Support Our Veterans
This coming May, local Vail resident, Chris Cobb, will be attempting to climb to the top of North America’s highest mountain peak to raise funds for the Arizona Fisher House. We checked in with Chris to get an update on how things are going.
Since the interview last month how has your training been going?
Training is good, I’ll be physically ready. It’s pretty intense now and I’ll continue with the same training routine until I leave for the mountain in May. I do 1 hour a day on the bleachers with 80lb pack or up and down the hill into my wash if the track is closed at Cienega. Then I alternate between swimming and a 7 mile jog in the afternoon, and 1 hour of heavy weight training afterwards. I don’t have much quit in me, if any. I don’t plan on showing up and not being physically ready to take this thing on.
Can you give us a quick recap of what the Arizona Fisher House is and how to make donations to the program?
Sure, the Arizona Fisher House provides temporary lodging for the family members of our Active Duty military members and Veterans while they undergo treatment at the VA. Unfortunately a big percentage of our specific facility is used for family members of veterans who are in the hospice at the VA. Cancer is getting a lot of our folks along with other things and a lot of them don’t have much longer to live. They are transferred to the hospice and the veterans are able to be with their loved ones in their last days because of our Arizona Fisher House. Without the program a lot of the families would have a hard time finding a way to pay for room and board at a hotel to be close to their family members. It’s a really powerful program that helps our military when they need it the most. I think taking care of them is the lease we can do for what they have sacrificed for us.
All donations can be made at my website : www.HousesForTroops.com/FisherHouse. People sponsor per foot climbed. The summit of Denali is 20,300 ft., so if you do a penny a foot you will give the Arizona Fisher house $203, if I make it to the top. I’ll run around in June when I get home and collect the checks, put them together, and give it all to the Fisher House. You can also do a nickel , dime , or even a quarter a foot. We’ve been getting a lot of supporters so far, but I’m trying to get as much as I can for these guys, they are doing great things at the Arizona Fisher House.
The community support so far has been unbelievable. The training can get pretty brutal leading up to the climb, and it definitely helps knowing that the community is backing me on this thing to raise money for the Fisher House. It’s really powerful to see what we can accomplish when we all get together to support a cause like this one. Along with the Vail Voice interview I have done a news interview with News 4 and been on the radio with 104.1’s “Military Monday.” I’ll also be on 104.1’s “Warrior Radio” as well at 0800 on the 31st of January.
Thanks for checking in! Good luck with the training!
Thank you! As always, I really appreciate the support of the Vail Voice and all the residents of our awesome community! Please visit the website if you want to be a per foot sponsor- www.HousesForTroops.com/FisherHouse
