Climb Out of The Darkness
Expedition 2015
"Climb Out of The Darkness" is a registered trademark of Postpartum Progress Inc. which has been licensed to Climb Out of the Darkness Expedition 2015 for exclusive use during the year 2015.
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
-- Helen Keller
Anthony Reinert
Team Lead
Anthony was born and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois, and is currently a student of environmental studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Anthony has an impressive list of accomplishments to his name, starting with reaching the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Anthony has thru hiked the 2189.1 mile Appalachian Trail and most of the Colorado Trail, Paddled the entirety of both the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers and bike toured 4500 miles across the United States. Anthony has a strong proven leadership ability and has demonstrated a passion and aptitude for adventure travel and he is poised to lend his abilities and skills to ensure that this is a successful.
Aaron McDowell
Staff Sargeant
Originally from Grand Junction, CO, Aaron has called Durango home since 2008. His focus at Fort Lewis College is environmental biology, agriculture, and geographic information systems. Since arriving at the F...ort he has been deeply involved with the theater scene and Engineers Without Borders. He is currently Assistant Technical Director at the Durango Arts Center and has served as EWB student president. With EWB he has been on five volunteer trips to Ecuador and Nicaragua, leading one in Nicaragua in 2014. Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador wetted his desire to climb both vertical ice and peaks. Summer 2014 he conducted his senior thesis research paddling the Missouri River with Anthony and will be graduating from Fort Lewis College in December 2014.
Seth Pooler
Team Media and Outreach Coordinator
Seth grew up in a small town called Clinton, North Carolina. He wound up in Durango, Colorado in 2010 and discovered something priceless: mountains. Seth enjoys any activities that involve being outside; he spent the entire summer of 2014 as a raft guide for Southwest Raft and Jeep. Even though he considers himself a “rookie” when it comes to mountaineering, Seth has dreamed of climbing all 54 fourteeners, and more. Seth is extremely excited to have this opportunity to accomplish one of his life goals, and have the potential to help those in need. Seth has battled with depression, anxiety, and PTSD over the past years, but he considers nature a “healer of all things”. Seth likes to tell others that “my mind may be crazy, and my heart may always change, but my soul . . . my soul forever rests in the mountains.”
Charly McConaghy
Team Strategist
Charly McConaghy’s love for high peaks and outdoor living drew her to our team. She left Connecticut two years ago to attend Fort Lewis College where she is studying Environmental Studies and Adventure Education. Her other large commitment at school is to Outdoor Pursuits, the college’s outdoor program, where she works as a Student Trip Leader. Charly brings a wealth of leadership and international trip planning experience to our expedition. She has studied in Central Asia, Eastern Africa, and Central America and traveled solo across South America in her teens. In the last year, Charly has been able to whitewater kayak throughout Mexico, summit Pico de Orizaba (18,200ft) in an otherwise all-male mountaineering expedition, and she recently finished a full thru-hike of the 2,660 mile Pacific Crest Trail. Charly is excited to use her skills and passions to make this expedition into something meaningful for the greater Colorado community.
Ryan McClure
Team Technical Specialist
Raised in Lafayette, Colorado, Ryan is currently a student at Fort Lewis College, studying public history. Having always been drawn to the mountains, from a young age Ryan nurtured a love of skiing, hiking, and climbing tall peaks. In the fall in 2013 Ryan graduated from NOLS Semester in Patagonia. During which he spent three months mountaineering, sea-kayaking, and backpacking around the wildest areas of the Chilean backcountry. When asked, he jumped at the chance to join the Climb out of the Darkness Crew. The opportunity to not only climb all the fourteeners in Colorado, but also raise awareness for the those suffering from mental diseases was too important to pass up. Ryan hopes to bring a drive and passion to the expedition that will help the group through the toughest moments.
Matthew Cranston
Team Technical Expert
Matthew Cranston isn’t at home unless he is out exploring remote terrain and doing it with great people. He grew up as a technical rock and ice climber in various locations in the Rocky Mountains and has lead numerous expeditions into various wilderness areas of all climates and geographies. The Team’s Veteran, Matt was in the Marine Corps and served two combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan where he had the pleasure of building a climbing wall for the local children using donated climbing holds and scavenged wood. He has since graduated from Fort Lewis College with a Business Degree, spent winters in Ouray climbing Ice and prototyping his own tools, and has around the world climbing mountains, cliffs, frozen waterfalls and teaching anyone who has the passion to learn. Matt is an adventure seeker and is very excited to seek adventure on the 54 highest peaks in Colorado with the Climb out of the Darkness Expedition!
Daniel Frauenhoff
Team Front Range Communications Organizer
A Colorado resident since his third birthday, Daniel Frauenhoff has been exploring the Rocky Mountains and surrounding foothills most of his life. Currently taking a sabbatical from Fort Lewis College, he lives at home on the Front Range where he works full time. He hopes to help the COTD team with knowledge from his own experiences, with a fair share of success stories as well as close calls. In the spring of 2013 he camped out of his Ford Ranger as he traveled around southern Utah, climbing in Indian Creek and Moab. He would volunteer with the Trash Tracker program at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area the coming summer. He enjoys backpacking and has made group and solo trips into the Indian Peaks, Lost Creek and other wilderness areas. Having had his own experiences with depression over the past year he is exited to help the COTD team bring awareness to mental health issues in Colorado. He considers his adventures in wild places to be among the best times of his life.