Alpine Mentors a young venture I've started with a group of friends and advisors, our mission is to: Promote alpinism by encouraging, coaching and climbing with technically proficient you alpinists who aspire to climb the world's greatest mountains in a lightweight, low-impact style. In form, it is modeled on existing programs found in most European alpine clubs that match young, motivated climbers with seasoned alpinists so they can train, climb, and carry out an expedition together.

Our Alpine Mentors will be structured in two-year cycles. During those two years various mentors (myself and others) paired with mentees will ascend routes in different mountain areas from Colorado to the Canadian Rockies to the Himalaya.

The current application period closes on April 1, 2012. Once the applications are reviewed we will notify the ten best to journey to southwest Colorado for a week of training, a safety review of climbing systems and self-rescue techniques, and of course, climbing. From those ten we'll select between two and four candidates. (I hope to grow this number in the future.) Those who are selected must be solid climbers, but also must be the sort of folks who we can travel, train, and climb with for months at a time. The culmination of the two years will be a climbing expedition to a 7,000 meter peak planned and executed by the entire team from concept to summit and home again.

I would like to invite you, or your friends, or your friend's friends who fit the bill: 21-30 years old, technically proficient in rock, ice, mixed, and mountaineering. Young. Strong. Motivated. We are open to men and women from any nation.

This is my way of giving back. Creating something that contributes to a growing communal passion for wild summits, those least attainable points across our globe, places where we learn so much about ourselves, our relationships and our environment. A passion that has given me so much in my lifetime. Please visit our website and help us to spread the word: www.alpinementors.org