Tyrhee Moore has spent the majority of his life in the city.

Behind the grandiose monuments and sea of towering buildings in Washington D.C., it was so hard for a kid to see what else the world had to offer.

As a 12-year-old living in the nation’s capitol, he couldn’t envision climbing the country’s tallest peak or spending summer after summer in the Wyoming wilderness.

He never knew any of that existed.

Eight years older, Moore, now a junior sport management major at West Virginia University, has traveled and experienced all that and more.

Expedition Denali will be on campus Wednesday (Feb. 26) at 7 p.m. in G20 of Ming Hsieh Hall. Moore and others from the trip to the summit of Denali will discuss their experiences of climbing Denali. Those in attendance will also be able to watch a film from trip.

His passion for exploring eventually led him to WVU. And he’s been able to thrive here, impressively balancing his studies with his urge to seek and search the world for its tallest peaks and most challenging terrain as a mountaineer.

It all started when he was in seventh grade. Moore, whose only experience with the outdoors came from TV and movies, joined the City Kids Wilderness Project, a summer program that would drop him in the middle of Wyoming – in the Teton Valley – for a few weeks to experience life in new surroundings.

He kayaked. He backpacked. He hiked. He climbed. Like a bear to a bee hive filled with honey, Moore just couldn’t get enough of the outdoors.

After exploring one of the most picturesque mountains and valleys in the Western U.S., Moore knew he wouldn’t stay an inner-city kid forever.

“I had never seen mountains or anything like that in my life. I was amazed. It was so much fun. I never thought about doing anything like that before,” said the 20-year-old. “D.C. didn’t have everything the world offered ? It was nowhere near the same. I knew that I couldn’t get there, so I just kept exploring the world.”

Since then, he’s been back to the Teton Valley eight times as a visitor and junior councilor with City Kids.

"I had never seen mountains or anything like that in my life. I was amazed. It was so much fun. I never thought about doing anything like that before. D.C. didn't have everything the world offered - It was nowhere near the same. I knew that I couldn't get there, so I just kept exploring the world."

-- Tyrhee Moore

Last summer, Moore climbed Denali, the tallest peak in North America. He was the youngest member of Expedition Denali, the first African-American group to reach the summit.

“I felt so small around those giant mountains,” Moore said.

Throughout the trek, ropes connected the climbers, and they used ice axes to maneuver up the treacherous snow and ice-covered mountain. The group stopped at six camps along the way and ended up stuck for a week at 14,000 feet due to deteriorating weather conditions.

Reaching the summit of a mountain that stands 20,322 feet above sea level isn’t a simple task – or safe for that matter. Danger lurks at almost every step up or down the mountain. In fact, it was so dangerous that Moore feared for his life at times during the climb.

“I really had a great time, but there were times that I thought I was going to die, because I was so exhausted,” he acknowledged. “It’s hard to put yourself in a similar situation. Being out there gives you that option to push yourself to the limit and test your courage.”

He never quit despite the high risk of the climb. He’s thrived from it – and learned about himself and how to deal with problems along the way. That has helped him, for example, when he’s dealing with the average problems a college student regularly faces like studying, homework and roommates.

“I can compare everything I do in a normal day to the situations that I’ve been through, and they seem so small compared to what it took to climb Denali,” Moore said. “Once you make it to the top and start to come down the mountain, you see everything you’ve passed, and it brings everything back to you. You reflect and think, ‘if I made it past this, who knows what I could do.’

“It’s just that constant feeling of achievement at the end of mountain you’ve climbed. That feeling of reward is so much higher of a magnitude just because everything is just so much tougher.”

In addition to Denali, Moore has been mountaineering in the Alaska’s Talkeetna Range and Washington’s Cascade Range.

"I can compare everything I do in a normal day to the situations that I've been through, and they seem so small compared to what it took to climb Denali. Once you make it to the top and start to come down the mountain, you see everything you've passed, and it brings everything back to you. You reflect and think, 'if I made it past this, who knows what I could do.'"

-- Tyrhee Moore

Since he successfully reached the peak of Denali, Moore has traveled to grade schools in the Eastern U.S. to speak to children, especially minorities, about trying outdoor activities and stepping outside their comfort zones. It’s what he did when he was in seventh grade, so he can easily relate to those inner-city minorities who have never seen a peak like Denali.

Expedition Denali will be on campus Wednesday (Feb. 26) at 7 p.m. in G20 of Ming Hsieh Hall. Moore and others from the trip to the summit of Denali will discuss their experiences of climbing Denali. Those in attendance will also be able to watch a film from trip.

Prior to his Expedition Denali experience, Moore said he would’ve been too shy to speak in front of a large group like this, but his improved leadership and speaking skills due to Expedition Denali has allowed him to more successfully impart his passion onto others.

“I used to play basketball and soccer – typical city sports,” he said. “I still enjoy those sports, but who knows ? If I didn’t go to that summer camp and tried these new things, who knows what I’d be doing. I probably wouldn’t be having as much fun.”

In the future, Moore hopes to start more inner-city outdoor programs like City Kids in hopes that it could lead them on a similar path. In fact, it even helped him get to WVU, as some of his older friends in the program went to the University and recommended it based on their positive experiences.

“I thought being outdoors was cool, but my life to this day constantly changes. I’ve been tons of places all around the country, I’ve got to climb Denali ? and I’ve gotten to see so much and learn so much,” Moore said. “Being outside, you see so many different things each time, because the environment always changes. It has always kept me interested, because I know it won’t be the same and won’t get boring or dry or run out for me.

“It will keep getting better and better. I just naturally have a lot of fun.”

By Tony Dobies
University Relations/News

-WVU-

td/02/24/14

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