When the Range of Motion Project stages a hill climb, they don’t mess around. We’d never seen it in person until Sunday before last (ie September 7), when we tagged along with about 100 people (and 12 dogs) for one of ROMP’s community ascents—the largest one ever, as it turned out.
Staged at Winter Park Resort in the Colorado Rockies, about 90 minutes west of Amplitude’s headquarters in Denver, the event was a warmup of sorts for ROMP’s trio of 10th anniversary fundraising climbs in Ecuador (which will take place on October 3 and October 8). Hikers flew in from both coasts, ranging in age from 18 to 70something; several members of next month’s climbing teams were on the scene, along with numerous veterans of previous ROMP expeditions.
Here’s a condensed digest of what we saw, who we talked to, and what we learned as we dragged our own out-of-shape, nondisabled self up the trail. If you want to support the cause, visit the Climbing for ROMP page at rompglobal.org and/or ROMP’s Instagram feed @rompglobal.
One of the first familiar faces we spotted was Jo Beckwith, aka Footless Jo. It was heartening to see her back on her feet and tackling mountains again so soon after her stroke, which hit her a mere seven months ago. When we asked how she’s feeling and what’s next on her agenda, she told us (paraphrasing): Who needs an agenda? I’m alive today, and that’s enough for now. The future will work itself out. Her spirit looks to be as strong as ever. She zipped up the mountain much faster than we did.
We had our first in-person conversation (after many virtual ones) with Sydney Marshburn, ROMP’s events and outreach manager. Sydney was fresh off a trip to Paris for the Paralympics, where she spent most of her time watching swimming events. “I’ve started training for the 2028 Paralympics,” Sydney added nonchalantly—she was a competitive swimmer from age nine through her senior year in high school, before losing her left leg. She faced a series of health challenges in 2024, but those are behind her. Sydney’s a strong person, and we wouldn’t bet against her.
Partway up the trail we met Heather Shorey, who goes by @thefootthatcould on Instagram. Her story is courageous several times over: After losing her right leg below the knee in 2019, she became a stalwart advocate for other amputees, volunteering for ROMP and earning Lead Advocate certification from the Amputee Coalition. Her brother, Rocky, joined ROMP’s 2021 Cotopaxi climb in her honor, but he passed away tragically this spring in a climbing accident on Mount St. Helen’s. So now Heather is honoring him by climbing with ROMP next month. You can back her effort with a donation.
Another new acquaintance we made was Josh Nowlan, who survived a 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in suburban Denver. Doctors spent six years attempting to save his injured left leg, but he chose amputation in 2018 and hasn’t looked back. After reaching the top of the trail, Nowlan rode the gondola down to the bottom and hiked up again—one of several amputees to hike multiple laps up the hill. (Some of them made so many round trips they set a new world record.)
We spotted teenage amputee soccer star Jordan Obernesser crutching around at the base of the mountain, sans prosthesis. Out on the trail he breezed past us so quickly we honestly did not notice whether he’d donned his device for the hike. He, too, made multiple ascents.
At least half a dozen veterans of prior Cotopaxi climbs were on hand. They included Sandy Dukat, a Paralympic medalist who took part in the first Climbing for ROMP expedition way back in 2015, joined the team again in 2019, and will be making her third climb for ROMP next month; Chris Rains from the 2021 team, and Joel Sampson from the 2022 squad; and Steve Crawford, Jason Malvar, and Steve Cantwell from last year’s climb. Apologies to anybody we missed.
Visit the Climbing for ROMP page at rompglobal.org and/or ROMP’s Instagram feed @rompglobal if you want to support this annual event. Learn more about ROMP’s 10th anniversary climb in Amplitude‘s September/October edition.
