Donate to the Robert Scott Kehrer Memorial Scholarship
What is the Alaskan Mountain Wilderness Classic? It is an adventure race that espouses purity of style. The Classic started in 1982 as a 150-mile wilderness footrace, crossing various mountain ranges throughout Alaska with some routes covering nearly 250 miles.
The rules are simple: start to finish with no outside support, requiring that racers carry all food and equipment; human powered; leave no trace; and rescue is up to the individual to resolve.
Rob Kehrer, a 10-year veteran of the Alaska Mountain Classic was tragically taken on Saturday August 9, 2014 in a pack rafting accident on the Tana River near McCarthy, Alaska while competing in the Summer Classic of 2014.
“I come here to find the cracks within myself, then I come again next year to see what I did with the cracks.”
For Rob, the Alaska Mountain Classic provided a decade of self-discovery, growth and love. The wilderness, the people, and the journey that lay ahead of him every time he entered the wilderness; “filled his cup”. Rob was a humble, loving man with a warm infectious smile; the Classic was his way of simplifying life for the time he was out in nature.
The Robert Scott Kehrer Memorial Scholarships was established to honor Robert and to provide an Ironwood Tree Experience youth the opportunity to explore the natural world and for that youth to define what the experience means to them. Rob’s participation in the Classic helped define the man he was and he had a deep passion for the outdoors.