Climb for Heroes is a non-competitive, family-friendly day hike accessible to all fitness levels and age groups. You can hike with friends and family, form a team, or come alone and meet other THP supporters at the event. Your registration fee of just $150 per participant gets you:
After your $150 registration fee, you will be given a fundraising link and other tools to share with friends and family. There are GREAT prizes as you hit different fundraising benchmarks. Keep close to our socials and your email to find out what you can earn as you support our injured veterans.
Event check-in and our base camp are located at the trailhead at the top of the Mount Baldy Ski Lift parking lot. Check-in starts at 7:30 am and will end at 11:00 am. You will pick up your bib and t-shirt and we will supply a light breakfast, coffee, snacks and Boxed Water at "Base Camp" (your check-in spot). You just need to bring your hiking daypack, sunscreen, extra water, and a credit card or cash for incidentals.
Once you've checked in, you can start your hike between 8 and 11 AM. There is a mandatory turnaround time (TBD, given the weather and mountain conditions), so getting to the summit earlier is better! Thunder Mountain is 8587 feet and a little less than 4 miles up a beautiful open-aired trail. Camp 1 will be a mere 30 minutes to an hour from Base Camp. And as you hike up the mountain, you will find another camp at each 30-45 minute interval. At each camp (there are four total) participants will receive a sponsor designed dog tag. If you reach the summit, you'll receive an awesome commemorative Eddie Bauer Summit medal! Don't worry, we have our injured veterans and active duty marines situated strategically on the mountain to provide you with inspiration and motivation. As always, you can hike down at any point, hang out with us at The Notch (just above Camp 2) where you can purchase an ice cold beverage, food, listen to live music at the after party, and take the ski lift down (price included in your registration fee this year!) if you choose. Don't forget that Camp 3 is the highest beer camp in Southern California, sponsored by PBR. It's a great place for pictures as you make your way back down the mountain.
Click on “Sign Up” (top right corner) and then choose from these options:
Important! Whether you've taken part in the past or not, the first step is to "SIGN UP." Check out this brief tutorial video that walks you through the registration process.
How to Register Video
A team can consist of two or more participants. It can be a group of co-workers, family members, neighbors, workout partners, or simply a group of friends who want the camaraderie that a team provides. Anyone can join or start a team. Below are some frequently asked questions (and answers) about how Climb for Heroes works.
Your teammates can hike with you providing support and companionship on the mountain. You can train together and create team outfits before the event, you can strategize awesome fundraising schemes to get your team to the top of the leaderboard, and after the event – you can post Climb for Heroes photos on your social media and create a major FOMO moment for all of your friends who missed out. Large teams get the added bonus of captains checking in their teammates - skip the check-in line and get started on your day early!
We understand that Mt. Baldy might not be in your backyard or travel plans. But if you are reading this, we know that you are committed to our injured veterans and this cause. So, we encourage you to sign up, donate, fundraise, and hike "with" us wherever you are at. If you donate $150, tag us @theheroesproject on November 9th, we will send you a participant t-shirt, sponsored dog tags and an Eddie Bauer summit medal (if you complete the mileage!). Take a look at the trail map below and you will see the distance between each camp. The total distance from Base Camp to the Summit is 4 miles. Choose whatever mountain, neighborhood, or park of your choice and use your favorite tracking app to match our distances.
Email us info@theheroesproject.org by midnight on November 12th with a picture of you climbing for heroes, a screenshot of your tracking app details, and your shipping address - and we will send you the same prizes you would have received if you were here with us in person. Grab your friends and family, form a team, and climb "with" us in your neck of the woods.
Click on “Sign Up", pick your registration type, fill out your personal information, pay the $150 registration fee, and maybe donate to yourself – read on!!
Create your personal page. Your Participant Center is your fundraising base where you’ll customize your homepage, share your story, send emails, and access fundraising tools.
Raise the bar. We recommend setting your goal above $150 (how does $1,000 sound?). Many of our participants find it much easier to exceed the minimum than they expect.
Be the example!! Make a self-donation to show how invested you are in this journey. Ask others to match it. This proven method really helps get the motor humming.
Make your first ask! Post on social media, text your BFF, email your circle of friends, call your mom/grandma/uncle/kids—tell your world what you’re doing.
As a reminder – you can double your donations by asking your employer’s Human Resources department (and ask your donors to do the same!) if your company matches charitable donations, and to get specific applications and instructions. Many companies match their employee’s contributions dollar for dollar. Some companies will even double the contribution!!
The Address: 8401 Mt. Baldy Road, Mount Baldy, CA 91759
From Hollywood: Take the 10 East; exit on Mountain Ave. (#54)
From Palm Springs: Take the 10 West; exit on Mountain Ave. (#54)
From the South Bay: Take the 105 East; 605 North; 210 East; exit on Mountain Ave. (#54)
Once off the freeway, simply follow Mountain Avenue UP the mountain. It will become Shin Road. Continue on Shin Road and turn right on Mt. Baldy Road.
On June 30th, 2023, The Heroes Project received the official final approval to build our long-awaited and much-needed Veteran Retreat Center at Icehouse Canyon on Mt. Baldy. THP’s Veteran Retreat Center (VRC) will service our huge, injured veteran community and the largest VA west of the Mississippi, both located right here in sunny SoCal. The VRC is designed to provide support and inspire teamwork while boosting confidence and morale in a serene mountain environment. With no cell phone service, WIFI, city lights, traffic, or city stressors, the mind and body are prepped for true physical, mental, and emotional recovery. This year you will truly be climbing and fundraising for a place our veterans can call home for many years to come. Stay close to our socials and website for status updates. For more information about our VRC click here.
The Heroes Project makes the impossible a reality by empowering our injured community through physical and emotional training, allowing them to explore the farthest reaches of themselves and the world they live in. These expeditions challenge the severely wounded to redefine their personal limits post injury. The Heroes Project inspires our injured men and women to find purpose, both physically and mentally, and ignites others to do the same.
The core work of The Heroes Project includes three initiatives:
Please visit TheHeroesProject.org for more information and connect with us @theheroesproject to stay informed.
