Team HighPoint's preparations are almost complete as they get ready for their departure to Portugal on Friday, June 21st to begin their 18 day trip that will take them to mainland Portugal, the Azores Islands, mainland Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar, Morocco and the Canary Islands. Hoping to collect four (4) more international highpoints in their quest to bring awareness of the Tibetan situation as well as The Rowell Fund For Tibet, Team HighPoint, if successful, will have reached 14 international highpoints in only 38 months time. Team HighPoint has also reached the highpoint of 48 of the United States with number 49, Gannett Peak of Wyoming, scheduled for late July. To follow Team HighPoints activities this summer, there will be blogs posted on www.50fortibet.org as well as on Facebook.

The Board of Advisors of the Rowell Fund for Tibet has selected seven Tibetan grantees for financial support totaling $45,000 in 2013. The winners were chosen from 43 project proposals and reflect the Board’s interest this year on climate change issues. Individual grants range from $4753 to $7500 and will be carried out in Asia and North America.

The Rowell Fund for Tibet was established in memory of the late Galen Rowell and his wife Barbara who died tragically in a plane crash in 2002. Galen Rowell was an internationally known outdoor photographer whose “Rainbow over the Potala Palace” has become an iconic photo for adventure travelers and Tibet supporters. The Rowell Fund for Tibet, established by friends and family of Galen and Barbara, in cooperation with the International Campaign for Tibet, has for 10 years supported Tibetans whose work can make a significant contribution in the fields of visual arts, the environment, media and women’s rights.

“Galen and Barbara Rowell helped put Tibet into the public's everyday consciousness. We intend for the Fund to continue their legacy, with support from other supportive individuals and companies, well into the future,” said John Jancik, member of the Rowell Fund Board of Advisors.

The grantees for 2013 are:*
•Tashi Tsering, University of British Columbia, Canada. To produce a documentary on “Climate Change and Changing Livelihood patterns in the Arid Western Himalayas” (grant amount: $ 7,225).
•The Tibetan Oral History Project. To continue their work transcribing the personal histories of Tibetan elders (grant amount: $ 7,296), learn more at: www.tibetoralhistory.org.
•The Tibetan Settlement Office, Dharamsala, India. For its “Illegal Waste Dumping Prevention Project” (grant amount: $ 4,826), learn more at: www.tsodhasa.org.
•Wild Yaks: Children’s Book Project, Toronto, Canada. (grant amount: $6,400), learn more at: www.wildyaks.com.

*Not all grantees are listed as some have requested confidentiality.

The Advisory Board of the Rowell Fund includes: John Ackerly, Conrad Anker, David Breashears, Jimmy Chin, Bob and Beth Cushman, John Jancik , Bob Palais, Tony Rowell and Ray and Nicole Rowell Ryan. The Fund is managed by the International Campaign for Tibet. To learn more about Galen and Barbara Rowell and the Rowell Fund for Tibet, please visit www.savetibet.org/support-tibet/donate-rowell-fund.

The Colorado based Team Highpoint is proud to announce their 2013 highpoint schedule. After completing their tenth international highpoint this past August with Mount Fuji (12, 389 feet) in Japan, the group is already looking forward to 2013 with hopes to continue on their adventures.

The team is excited to expand on their European endeavors by traveling to Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar to claim their 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th international highpoints. The points vary in height, Pico Del Teide, or Teide Peak, of Spain is looking to be the most rigorous in that respect, standing at 12,198 feet. Teide is the third highest volcano in the world, at 24,600 feet from its base on the ocean floor; it falls short only to Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in Hawaii. The next up after Teide will be Andorra's Pic de Coma Pedrosa at 9,665 feet, followed by La Torre of Portugal at 6,637 feet, and then the Rock of Gibraltar stationed at a high of 1,398 feet.

Not all of the highpoints planned for 2013 are abroad, however. For the 49th highpoint within the United States, Team Highpoint looks to the Cowboy State in their pursuit of the 13,804 ft. Gannett Peak in Wyoming.

With the Japanese highpoint achieved in 2012, Team Highpoint has now accumulated ten total international highpoints and 48 U.S. state highpoints (as well as Washington D.C.) since the project's inception in June 2006. Since 50 For Tibet's beginning in 2006, over 140,000 miles of travel have been logged and approximately $225,000 in donations have been raised to promote The Rowell Fund For Tibet (www.savetibet.org/about-ict/rowell-fund-tibet), an organization which provides grants to help preserve the threatened Tibetan culture.

Team Highpoint consists of John Jancik (Parker, Colorado), Terri Baker (Parker, Colorado), David Baker (Denver, Colorado) and Steve Gardiner (Billings, Montana). John and Terri, who originally met the late, legendary photographer and mountaineer Galen Rowell in 1995 as the three of
them prepared for their participation in the 1996 Top of the World Expedition to northern Greenland, now serve on The Advisory Board of The Rowell Fund for Tibet. On September 23rd, 2006, Team Highpoint was honored with a special meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama during a visit to Colorado.

To learn more about Team Highpoint and its 50 For Tibet project, see the Team's website at www.50fortibet.org or contact John Jancik at echojj@aol.com. More information about the Tibetan situation is available from the International Campaign for Tibet at www.savetibet.org or by phone at (202) 785-1515.

Colorado based Team Highpoint reached the summit of Japan's highest mountain, Mount Fuji (12,389 feet) on Wednesday, August 1st. Completed after two days of climbing, Team HighPoint reached the highest point on the summit crater rim at approximately 8:10 local time. Since June 2010, team HighPoint has reached the top of ten (10) international highpoints.

Team HighPoint formed the non-profit 501(c)(3) 50 For Tibet fund raising project in support of The Rowell Fund For Tibet. They returned from Scandinavia in July 2011 where they successfully achieved four (4) new country international highpoints (Norway, Finland, Sweden & Denmark). With the five (5) international country highpoints achieved in 2010, Team HighPoint has now accumulated ten (10) total international highpoints and 48 U.S. state highpoints (as well as Washington D.C.) since the project's inception in June 2006. Since 50 For Tibet's beginning in 2006, over 140,000 miles of travel have been logged and approximately $225,000 in donations have been raised to promote The Rowell Fund For Tibet (www.savetibet.org/about-ict/rowell-fund-tibet), an organization which provides grants to help
preserve the threatened Tibetan culture.

Team HighPoint consists of John Jancik (Parker, Colorado), Terri Baker (Parker, Colorado), David Baker (Denver, Colorado) and Steve Gardiner (Billings, Montana). John and Terri, who originally met the late, legendary photographer and mountaineer Galen Rowell in 1995 as the three of
them prepared for their participation in the 1996 Top Of The World Expedition to northern Greenland, now serve on The Advisory Board of The Rowell Fund For Tibet. On September 23rd, 2006, Team HighPoint was honored with a special meeting with His Holiness The Dalai Lama during his visit to Colorado.

To learn more about Team HighPoint and its 50 For Tibet project, see the Team's website at www.50fortibet.org or contact John Jancik at echojj@aol.com. More information about the Tibetan situation is available from the International Campaign for Tibet at www.savetibet.org or by phone at (202) 785-1515.

Colorado based Team Highpoint recently had to delay the start of their Top of Japan Expedition to July 28th, 2012, a month later than initially planned. Despite the delay, team Highpoint is anxious to make an ascent of the country's highest mountain and one of the most
sacred on Earth, Mt. Fuji (12,389 feet). This trip has more meaning than ever for Team Highpoint, as it will be in memory of Cindy Early, a member of the Top Of Japan Expedition who unexpectedly passed away last month. Team Highpoint, along with other invited members of the trip, plan to honor Cindy Early's joyous life on the summit of Mount Fuji just after sunrise on August 1st.

Team HighPoint formed the non-profit 501(c)(3) 50 For Tibet fund raising project in support of The Rowell Fund For Tibet. They returned from Scandinavia in July 2011 where they successfully achieved four (4) new country international highpoints (Norway, Finland, Sweden & Denmark). With the five (5) international country highpoints achieved in 2010, Team HighPoint has now accumulated nine (9) total international highpoints and 48 U.S. state highpoints (as well as Washington D.C.) since the project’s inception in June 2006. Since 50 For Tibet's beginning in 2006, over 120,000 miles of travel have been logged and approximately $210,000 in donations have been raised to promote The Rowell Fund For Tibet (www.savetibet.org/about-ict/rowell-fund-tibet), an organization which provides grants to help preserve the threatened Tibetan culture.

Team HighPoint consists of John Jancik (Parker, Colorado), Terri Baker (Parker, Colorado), David Baker (Denver, Colorado) and Steve Gardiner (Billings, Montana). John and Terri, who originally met the late, legendary photographer and mountaineer Galen Rowell in 1995 as the three of
them prepared for their participation in the 1996 Top Of The World Expedition to northern Greenland, now serve on The Advisory Board of The Rowell Fund For Tibet. On September 23rd, 2006, Team HighPoint was honored with a special meeting with His Holiness The Dalai Lama during his visit to Colorado.

To learn more about Team HighPoint and its 50 For Tibet project, see the Team's website at www.50fortibet.org or contact John Jancik at echojj@aol.com. More information about the Tibetan situation is available from the International Campaign for Tibet at www.savetibet.org or by phone at (202) 785-1515.