Graduate student spends summer climbing Colorado's highest peaks for charity

This summer, Brittney Woodrum climbed all 58 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, an experience that left her feeling "a lot of astonishment, joy, and lots and lots of gratitude."

Woodrum, 27, is a graduate student at the University of Denver, studying humanitarian assistance. The Kentucky native loves the outdoors and being of service to others, and in July launched a fundraising effort called the Fourteeners Project. Her goal was to raise $1,400 for each trek up one of Colorado's fourteeners, with the money going to ShelterBox, an international relief charity.

With a large ShelterBox aid container strapped to her back, Woodrum climbed her first summit on July 10 and made it to the final peak, Crestone Needle in the Sangre de Cristo Range, on Sept. 26. Over the summer, she saw meteor showers and skies tinted orange due to wildfires, which was "almost surreal," Woodrum told The Aspen Times. During tough hikes, she learned it was "more of a mental than a physical game," and it was "just about embracing the trudge." By the time her adventure was over, Woodrum had raised about $85,000 for ShelterBox, and she is already planning on doing something similar next summer. Catherine Garcia

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