There's a lot of us who climb 14,000 foot mountains in Colorado and one of the most important items we bring with us is clean water. Most of us wouldn't even think of drinking out of one of the glistening Colorado streams unless we were in dire straits. But the water that we consider 'dirty' is nothing compared to what millions of people around the world have access to.

Every week, millions of women and their children walk more than 14 miles just to get water for their families. Most of this water is contaminated, but it's the only water they have. They take the chance of catching diseases like bilharzia and schistosomiasis (parasites) - with every sip. There's nothing they can do to change it.

So, what can we, as climbers, do?

I believe that together we can make a difference and make climbing 14ers not just about checking off another summit or enjoying the outdoors, but make it about changing lives around the world.

I would encourage you to set an amount that you will give each time you summit a 14er, perhaps it will be an amount equal to the number of summits you have done or it will be a specific dollar value for each summit. I think that as a group we can raise enough for a well to be built and bring clean water to a community.

Charity: water has a unique model, making sure that 100% of all donations go directly to water projects, and each donation is "proved" when projects are complete.

I hope you'll join me in helping them now.