UpaDowna is a Colorado-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving the Pikes Peak Region since 2014 by providing FREE and donation-based outdoor adventures for all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Our mission is to provide access to outdoor adventures through programs and events that empower individuals, create healthier communities, and foster a respect for the environment. UpaDowna programs are classified under Three Peaks: Summit Series, Community Campfire, and Enviornmental Essentials. Activities under the Three Peaks include Biking, Climbing, Hiking, Standup Paddleboarding, Outdoor Wellness (Meditation, Yoga, and Zumba), Educational Speaker Series, and Trail/Park Cleanups. We breaks down barriers to outdoor adventures by providing the equipment, knowledge, and expertise through our programs and events. Programs and events are geared towards individuals who are new to the outdoors, looking to develop their current skillset, facing uphill battles getting outdoors, and those who simply want to find camaraderie among others with similar outdoor passions. In alignment with our mission, UpaDowna strives to provide experiences to promote a welcoming and safe enviornment and continue to build an outdoor community founded upon memories and adventures! There are endless opportunities for our community to get outside and 'play' among the Front Range in this beautiful state we get to call home!
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Take a ride back in time and read about how it all began:
UpaDowna started its life in the early 2000’s as a celebration of the classic adventurer’s tradition of enjoying a cold b**r after a great day outdoors, hence our original motto: “Up a mountain, Down a b**r” which is the backbone of many outdoor adventurer’s post celebration of a job well done. In 2004, thanks to the encouragement of a dear friend, the original founder Steve Hitchcock started writing a gear review blog with just the items in his closet and sharing thoughts of where/how to camp and hike on the first site, UpaDowna.com. With the addition of more gear reviews, trail reports, and the start of public events our founders set out to make UpaDowna more than just a “blog”. UpaDowna’s first event in 2007, the “Incline Happy Hour” saw 40-60 hikers participate in the grueling climb, with a celebration afterward at the local watering hole, Kinfolks. In 2014, UpaDowna became an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit and it was all history after that! As we have grown and come to more fully understand that in order to create change in both individuals and our environment we needed to expanded our mission from the focused 21+ age group to all ages and all ages and abilities. While we will always hold UpaDowna’s founding mantra near and dear, we now have more adventures and opportunities to help everybody UNLEASH YOUR ADVENTURE!
