About Us
About Us
Founded in 2000 by American climber
Garth Willis, The Alpine Fund seeks to connect Kyrgyzstan’s
two greatest resources - its youth and its mountains. We are
a small but very active organization. Our total budget is
currently $1500 per month, yet our dedicated team is able to
provide education and mountains programs to about 40 youth each week.
What we do
We currently offer four integrated programs that combine experiential education in the mountains with more traditional lessons in the city.
Clouds at their Feet is the wilderness-education program that provides a weekly outing - hiking, trekking, climbing or camping. Participants learn new skills and important environmental lessons. Imagine the change of perspective when an adolescent who has never left the concrete walls of the city has the opportunity to literally climb high above their perceived limitations and look down upon where they once were.
The Alpine Club is the tutoring program located at the Alpine Fund office in Bishkek where children receive twice weekly assistance in learning English and weekly lessons in computer skills. The Alpine Fund office has two computers accessible to its students.
Alpine Interns is an opportunity for young adults who have been involved in the previous two programs to share what they have learned with younger students. By instructing and leading outings for younger students the Alpine Interns build up their own skill-sets. Increased self-confidence and leadership abilities make Alpine Interns more employable in the tourism field.
The Alpine Learning Center is a cabin near Bishkek that serves as the staging area and launching point for Alpine Fund outings. Camping participants often camp outside the cabin, enjoy breakfast from the kitchen and launch their own hiking ‘expeditions’ from this base camp. The primary reason for using this cabin is to provide a safe shelter from the weather but children here are also able to learn independent living skills such as preparing breakfast and maintaining good hygiene.
The Alpine Fund in Tajikistan
In 2004 with the support of the Ansara Foundation The Alpine Fund opened an office in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Garth Willis ran a successful program from the office but after a year he left the region and the program suffered from lack of direction and local capacity. One of the greatest challenges in Tajikistan is the almost complete lack of experienced alpinists and no mountaineering culture. In Bishkek climbers stayed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, in Tajikistan civil war followed the collapse and those interested in Mountaineering left the region and with them went their knowledge and traditions. The Dushanbe office is currently in hibernation. The equipment is there and some local staff are on standby to begin work once funding is found.
