Black Diamond Equipment announced a partnership with REI, which will take the HERA (Health Empowerment, Research and Advocacy) Ovarian Cancer Climb for Life on the road to six major metropolitan areas this winter.

The HERA Climb for Life REI Road Tour will include a month long event at each stop to promote awareness and raise money for research in the following markets: Seattle, WA; Fremont, CA; Denver, CO; Minneapolis, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; and Southern California. Entire families can participate in the promotion earning points from climbing on climbing walls at REI stores and local gyms. Points will be tallied in participant scorebooks with incentives to gain pledges from friends, family and community members.

Each promotion will kick off with a party at REI, featuring Black Diamond product raffles, climbing clinics and demos, and a talk by a local medical expert on ovarian cancer. At the end of the month long promotion in each market, awards will be presented to the top finishers in each age and ability category. Black Diamond climbers Steph Davis, Kim Csizmasia, Abby Watkins, Heidi Wirtz and Tiffany Campbell will visit each REI location to present slide shows and climbing clinics.

Sean Patrick, ovarian cancer survivor and Founder HERA Women’s Cancer Foundation comments, “We are very excited to welcome REI as our newest 7 Summits Partner with the announcement of the HERA/REI Ovarian Cancer Climb for Life Road Tour. With their support we will be able to reach a broader audience to raise awareness for ovarian cancer and will hopefully be able to save more women's lives.”

Dennis Madsen, CEO of REI adds, “Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that combines REI's efforts to promote outdoor stewardship and engage people in outdooor recreation, with an equally important cause – which is why REI is proud to partner with Black Diamond as a sponsor of HERA's National Ovarian Cancer Climb for Life Road Tour.”

The second annual HERA Climb for Life event will take place in Salt Lake City, September 11 – 13, 2003, hosted by Black Diamond. This flagship event, which last year raised over $80,000, will be highlighted by the Governor of Utah proclaiming September as State of Utah Ovarian Cancer month, kicking off the national REI Road Tour which will begin in Southern California in January. For more detailed information on the event in your local area go to: www.ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/climb