Couple Climbs Ecuador Mountain, Raises Thousands For Tulsa Nonprofit

A Tulsa couple just climbed more than 2,000 feet through Ecuador to raise thousands of dollars for Little Light House.

"Mountains haunt you. I have probably turned around on 20, 30, 40 summits," said Rock Climber, Jason Burks. "You keep losing oxygen the higher you get up. The altitude that this summit was at- it was 55-percent less oxygen than Tulsa."

For Jason Burks and his wife Tayler, mountaineering and rock climbing are a way of life. It is a love and passion. It is also the way they met.

"I was 33 when I met her, and I was at a climbing competition in Arkansas," said Burks.

The two planned an adventure in Ecuador, with a goal of raising a dollar per foot for Little Light House in Tulsa.

"I found this mountain Chimborazo in Ecuador which is 20,549 feet. It is taller than Kilimanjaro. It is harder than Kilimanjaro," said Burks.

The couple didn't get to the summits. However, they climbed as high as they could. They pushed their bodies to limits, which they didn't realize they could reach.

"How can I complain? I mean, these kids they push, these parents push, the staff here pushes. You can't even hang around here and not think about, 'what more can I do?'" said Burks.

Jason and Tayler ended up raising $23,395.

"When our average donation is $261, having this much come from two people who love this place so much and give so much to this place," said Sara Massey with Little Light House.

"It is just trying to do something good for good people. It is pretty simple for me," said Burks.

Risk is an inevitable part of life. We all weigh the risks we are willing to take.

Jason and Tayler have weighed theirs and created a platform to give back to others in the process.

"I don't have any intentions of dying, but I don't cling so tightly to life that I don't live it," said Burks.