Rick Davidson, the president and CEO of Century 21 Real Estate, is leading a team of seven other real estate professionals on a climbing expedition in Alaska to raise funds for Easter Seals and Big Brothers Big Sisters. They will attempt to scale Mount Eldridge and Explorers Peak over eight days, living in base camps between climbs. This will be Davidson's first time climbing in Alaska, though he has experience climbing in other areas, and uses climbing to push his physical limits while raising money for charity. The climbs will begin at midnight to take advantage of the dusk lighting and last until the following afternoon, with the team communicating their progress on Facebook and Twitter.

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Century 21 Real Estate CEO climbs for a
cause
People in Real Estate: Rick Davidson
BY MARY UMBERGER , WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2011.
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Century 21 Real Estate President and CEO Rick Davidson.
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When British climber George Mallory was asked in 1924 why he wanted to scale
Mount Everest, he very tersely and very famously replied: "Because it's there." Categories
Rick Davidson is a little more specific about the kick that drives him to strap on a Agent advice
heavy load of supplies and gear and climb 12,000 feet in a day (and back). Buying & Selling
Hom e Im provem en
"It truly is about taking yourself to a limit and being able to blow past that limit -- to Investing
me, that is exhilaration," Davidson said. Investing & Perso.
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2. Davidson, who is president and CEO Century 21 Real Estate, the world's largest bay w aters ... m ore
real estate franchise network, next week will join a team of seven other climbers, than 80 tim es
all of them in the real estate industry, to tackle peaks in Alaska. Military fam ilies
battle real estate
distress
The undertaking is a fundraiser for Easter Seals and Big Brothers Big Sisters.
The effort will be tracked each day at http://www.facebook.com/Century21.
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"We're hoping to raise $1 a vertical foot, and make as many vertical feet as we
June 2011
can," he said. The plan is to do up-and-back climbs of Mount Eldridge and
May 2011
Explorers Peak, Davidson said. A third peak hasn't been decided, he said; the
April 2011
choice will depend on the weather conditions and the team's aptitude.
March 2011
The latter is a key question mark, he said. He has climbed for several years with March 2011
three of the climbers -- all former colleagues from Coldwell Banker Commercial. February 2011
The others -- all of them associated with Century 21 -- have never climbed, he January 2011
said. December 2010
Nov ember 2010
Davidson said he's confident of the novices' enthusiasm and determination, and
October 2010
their guide for the climbs will have the final say over their participation.
September 2010
Cooperation is everything, he said.
August 2010
"When you begin to travel across the glacier, you're roped into a team -- literally
clamped together," he said. "That team is your lifeline. You run the risk of
crossing a crevasse that can be covered by a snow bridge, and the snow bridge
gives out and you have 200 feet of ice cavern below you. GoPro® Cam
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"Your rope team saves your life, literally."
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In addition to Davidson, members of the team include: Waterproof,
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Scott Becker, Century 21 New Millennium in northern Virginia; GoPro.com
Greg Cornelius, Century 21 NorthBay Alliance in northern California;
Realtor
Dennis Pysz, Century 21 South America; Software
Robert Struk, Century 21 Curran & Christie in Dearborn, Mich.; Having trouble
tracking
Brad Jubin, Coldwell Banker Bullard in Peachtree City, Ga;
everything? We
Steve DuBrueler, Coldwell Banker Premiere in Winchester, Va.; can Help. Now
Allison Graves, Coldwell Banker Carriage House Realty in Fredericksburg, with Outlook
Va. Sync Century 21
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plans and View
They'll converge in Anchorage on Saturday and drive two hours to the town of Real Estate for Pricing, Plans, &
Talkeetna, which is the departure area for climbs throughout the Alaska Range. You Photos
Buy or Sell: We www.DavidWeekleyH…
"We'll catch a ski plane out of Talkeetna, which will fly us up on the Eldridge are here!
Glacier, and we'll set up base camp there," Davidson said. "Over the course of Century 21
the next eight days we'll live in the glacier." Premier Realty The Saraga
www.century21premi…
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After two days of training and conditioning, the climbs will begin. Each ascent will Free real estate
start around midnight because at this time of the year, the midnight light Top Realtors In consultations.
approximates dusk and gives the climbers adequate visibility, he said. Your Area Closings for
Your Search For $750. Visit
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"We'll reach the summit anywhere from 10 a.m. to two in the afternoon, and www.saragalaw.com
descend from there," Davidson said. "(The duration) depends on the technical And & Trusted
aspects of the climb and weather conditions, which can change dramatically. So
Local Realtor VISINE®
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each climb should take from midnight until around 5 o'clock the next afternoon." www.AgentMachine.…
Relief
Then, the group will go back to the base camp and move closer to the second Soothe & refresh
peak, and repeat the process. A decision on the third peak will follow, he said. irritated summer
eyes. Use
SUMMER
Along the way, Davidson will be tweeting brief updates about the climbs'
SPECTRUM
progress, which will be posted on the Facebook page. He also will be using a RELIEF...
SPOT tracker, a satellite-based device that will send a GPS signal on the
climbers' location beginning July 4 (follow their progress at this link). RE/MAX Real
Estate Agents
Try the Wayne
Davidson, 51, joined Coldwell Banker Commercial in 2006 after selling his own
Real Estate
brokerage, becoming the Realogy Corp. affiliate's president and later its chief
Agent Search
operating officer. In 2010, he was named president of Century 21 Real Estate. Tool Now &
Learn More.
He began climbing 15 years ago, and gradually realized he could use his www.REMAX.com
passion for the sport to raise funds for the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization,
where he was a board member in the Washington, D.C. area.
He has scaled most of the peaks in Oregon and Washington, and has climbed
in Mexico and Spain, he said. This will be his first climb in Alaska.
The teamwork required in the sport has taught him some business lessons, he
said.
"It's the ultimate individual sport," he said. "You train and go after this mountain,
and when you think you can't take one more step, you have to reach deep-down
inside yourself and force yourself to go on. It pushes you beyond whatever self-

3. imposed limits you have.
Yet it's also the ultimate team sport, he said: "If a fall occurs, you life depends on
your teammates."
The deadliest year in the Alaska Range was 1992, when 13 climbers lost their
lives, 11 of them on 20,320-foot Mount McKinley (also known as Denali),
according to the Bellingham (Wash.) Herald. During the 2011 climbing season,
eight climbers have died on the Alaska Range.
Davidson said he hasn't had any particularly dangerous episodes in climbing.
"Nothing that was life-threatening," he said. "We have had a couple of trips and
slips and slides, but nothing beyond what the rope team was able to stop or we
couldn't self-arrest.
"You carry an ice axe and use it to stop yourself from sliding on the glacier,"
Davidson said. "The rope team is your next resort -- as the rope catches, you're
hopeful that your team has dug in and is holding tight," he said.
Mary Umb erger is a freelance writer in Chicago.
Contact Mary Umberger:
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Subm itted by Gabrielle Jeans on June 29, 2011 - 1:22pm .
It's alw ays great to see people doing things for a cause. Great Job
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Subm itted by m adhuri 27 on June 29, 2011 - 10:06pm .
Yep I too feel the same..It is alw ays great to see people doing some thing for a
cause..really a great job man !! I heart fully appreciate the w ork u have done..I w as
stopped by reading the article..Its quite interesting to read and know ur great w ork !!
w eb hosting
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