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Corrales Annual Ditch Run honors memory of New Mexico mountaineer
Dave Cook. (Courtesy: Dave Gives Back/Facebook)

Corrales Annual Ditch Run honors memory of New Mexico mountaineer

CORRALES, N.M. — Dave Cook had done this dozens of times before. It’s not something that most of us have done. Or ever will do. But to him, a seasoned and savvy mountaineer, it was practically as commonplace as brushing your teeth.

This was to be a summit climbing expedition not unlike scores of others he’d embarked upon and successfully completed before. Cook set out solo to conquer a trio of peaks stretching high into the rarefied air of The Colorado Rocky Mountains near Aspen. A Forest Service worker reported seeing him on that September 20th morning of 2016.

It was the last time Dave Cook would ever be seen again.

After battling for days against the wicked weather and snow that ravaged the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area, struggling to find any trace of the lost hiker in rugged terrain, the massive Pitkin County search operation was called off indefinitely.

Dave Cook was gone. He was 49.

In Corrales, New Mexico, his wife of 17 years, Maureen, and their three children-Kate, Ryan and Sara-were left to mourn the loss of their beloved husband and father.

Fast forward to this year. Emerging from despair, Maureen was inspired to do something on behalf of her cherished late partner. Something that would honor his legacy. Something that would genuinely matter to Dave, and resonate with his passion for climbing and his powerful love of the outdoors.

And so “Dave Gives Back” was born.

The campaign’s mission: Raise money and awareness for search and rescue efforts in both Colorado and New Mexico, with proceeds to be dedicated to Mountain Rescue Aspen. Fundraising sources include donations and merchandise sales, as well as revenue from the Corrales Ditch Run, a three-race event held every year in the suburb north of Albuquerque.

“I think it’s just a really beautiful way to honor Dave and also be in our community where he lived.” Maureen expresses on the initiative’s website, davegivesback.org. “Our goal is to continue this campaign to raise awareness and funds for search and rescue, all over.”

Maureen Cook is deeply appreciative of the support given to “Dave Gives Back” by her local community, and specifically through the Corrales Ditch Run, which also benefits Kids Kamp, a local effort to send children of lower-income families to a cost-free summer camp program. And yet, it is also of paramount importance to Maureen that all those who devoted countless hours of time and effort toward finding Dave never be forgotten, noting to The Aspen Times that in 2020 there were 4,000 search and rescue missions organized and spearheaded by nearly 50 SAR and ten specialty teams in Colorado, representing a staggering 330,000 human hours of volunteer assistance.

Almost half of all of these missions were conducted in search of hikers, not all of whom could be rescued.

“We don’t know what happened”, shares Maureen on davegivesback.org. “Something tragic occurred and we’ve never found him.”

It’s been a long road back for Maureen Cook. One she, her son and two daughters continue to travel. Still, as Maureen resolutely tells The Aspen Times, there is newfound purpose in paying tribute to a precious memory preserved forever in the heart.

“We are now in the space of raising awareness for search and rescue. The Aspen community was so welcoming and supportive of us.”

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