The Dan Cook Memorial Fund

Through the Dan Cook Memorial Fund - Urban Peaks now has the ability to grant Scholarships to individuals. We are grateful to be able to help underprivileged kids get into climbing and pursue their passion. Individuals will receive up to $1,500 to help achieve their climbing goals.

Scholarships for summer programming are due by May 1st. Recipients will be notified by May 15th.

Scholarships for school-year programming are due Sept 1st. Recipients will be notified by Sept 15th.

Who was Dan Cook?

Dan Cook began rock climbing around 12 when he went with his sister to a rock-climbing birthday party at a local gym in the Boston area.  It became an immediate passion and he spent many evenings and weekends at local rock gyms in RI and Boston on a regular basis for years. When the weather was nice he also liked going to Borderland State Park in MA and Lincoln Woods in RI. Some other favorite areas included New Paltz in NY. In the spring, Dan would go with a group of young climbers to Red River Gorge in KY near Miguels Pizza for five days of camping and climbing.  He was active until his death at the age of 18 in November 2013.

Dan’s nickname was “Cookie” and he had a large social network of friends.  He grew up in Sharon, MA and took advantage of the many outdoor areas there; Moosehill, King Phillips Trails and Borderland State Park.  He had fun with all the dogs in our lives over the years, but his favorites were the pugs – Casie and Bella who use to curl up with him while watching his favorites shows. 

Besides climbing, he enjoyed climbing trees, snowboarding, skateboarding and fishing with friends. He played lacrosse in HS and football when younger. Dan loved music and grew up a in a family who introduced him to many styles of music. He was a loving son, brother and friend who is missed every minute of every day. We are all grateful for the time he was with us and remains in many hearts forever.