http://www.backpacker.com/operation_denali/blogs/daily_dirt/949
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
MH Boosts Disabled Expedition
Online News Article
By: Alison Osius (03/26/2009)
Online News Article
By: Alison Osius (03/26/2009)
"My goal was to climb ... and this happened before I could do it," writes a young soldier, back from Iraq. Now he will.
These days climbers and outdoorspeople with disabilities are everywhere. Paradox Sports just did its first annual Gimps on Ice, in mid-March taking 10 disabled athletes ice climbing in Ouray, Colorado. Our upcoming issue of Rock and Ice shows a partnership of two teenage girls, Ouray regulars who are each missing a leg, and who are starting another association, Amped, to host other persons like themselve in Ouray. In Winter Park, home of the National Sports Center for the Disabled Competition Program, tricked-out wheelchairs whizz thickly by on snowy walkways, their occupants gamely grunting as they negotiate the upslopes.
Major programs and news stories, such as a feature in Newsweek, have recognized the enormous value of mountain activities as therapy for the disabled, particularly our injured war veterans. The Gimps on Ice event gained a huge front-page article in the Denver Post.
This week, in another milestone in respect and support, when Mountain Hardwear announced the winners of its 2009 Expedition Sponsorship Program, dispensing a total of $10,000, the first recipient was Operation Denali, for four wounded soldiers to attempt to climb Denali (20,320) feet. All four were injured in Iraq, and two are amputees. They hope to climb the West Buttress Route in June.
Writes Matt Nyman, 31, on the team blog, http:/www.operationdenali.blogspot.com:"I dream of climbing Denali. My whole life was the outdoors before my injury. My goal was to climb Mt. Rainier and this happened before I could do it. I wanted to follow it with Denali. ... My whole life I've hiked, camped, skied, and just about everything else you can do. In 2005, I was on a little bird helicopter in Iraq when we crashed. I was tossed into the rotor. It cut off my right leg below the knee, cut and crushed my left foot, compound femur fracture, and collapsed lungs. All I have done is dreamed about climbing a big mountain and since I got hurt, it just made me want to do it even more to prove to myself I can overcome anything. I will do whatever it takes to do this expedition."
In http://www.theveteranscoalition.org/operation_denali/the team's leader, Major Marc Hoffmeister, 38, recalls the day his life changed:"It’s been almost a year now since the [roadside bomb] strike ripped through my body ... My left arm is titanium from wrist to elbow and then some. I lost 50 percent of the muscle mass in my arm and five inches of my ulnar nerve. I’ll need more surgery in the future. I don’t have feeling in my left arm, leg or several fingers and can’t fully control its use. My brain has become adept at suppressing the pain. As time crawls by, I struggle to rediscover my own ability. Slowly, I am gaining strength."I won’t be that casualty who forgets who he was or can't see what he can still be."
The other teammates are Jon Kuniholm (U.S. Marine Corps), an engineer who lost his arm; David Shebib and Gayle Hoffmeister.
"The support of the incredible folks at Mountain Hardwear, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Wounded WarriorProject and countless others have made the dreamof Operation Denali possible," Hoffmeister tells us. "This opportunity gives us a chance to redefine who we are and experience life to an extent none of us thought possible."
The other Mountain Hardwear grant winner is the New Zealand Batura Expedition, also to leave in June, in which the journalist and mountaineer Patricia Deavoll will lead a team of climbers to attempt first ascents of the south faces of Kampire Dior (7,142m) and Kuk Sar (6,934m) in Northern Pakistan. The team, from New Zealand, includes Lydia Bradey, the first woman to climb Everest without oxygen (in a largely solo and very historic climb in 1988), as well as Dean Staples and Brian Alder.
For more information, see also:
Mountain Hardwear Announces Expedition Sponsorship Recipients for 2009
Richmond, CA (March 23, 2009) – Mountain Hardwear, a leading mountaineering and outdoor clothing and equipment company, announces the recipients of the 2009 Expedition Sponsorship Program. Mountain Hardwear will give total of $10,000 to help fund two expeditions: Operation Denali, enabling four wounded soldiers to overcome combat injuries and summit 20,320 ft. Mt. McKinley (Denali) in Alaska, and the New Zealand Batura Expedition, first ascents of the south faces of Kampire Dior (7,142m) and Kuk Sar (6,934m) in Northern Pakistan.
Operation Denali
A team of warriors wounded in Iraq, two of which are amputees, plans to ascend the West Buttress Route of Denali in June 2009. The four soldiers, Marc Hoffmeister (U.S. Army Officer), Matt Nyman (U.S. Army), David Shebib (U.S. Army) and Jon Kuniholm (U.S. Marine Corps), share a common goal to overcome devastating combat injuries and to summit the highest mountain in North America, a symbol of the strength of America and those who defend it. In preparation, they have worked tirelessly toward rehabilitation with sports therapists, exercise physiologists and several orthopedic doctors. They also completed a twelve-day mountaineering course with the Alaska Mountaineering School in July 2008. The four soldiers, none of whom are professional mountaineers, share a passion for the outdoors and the will and determination to surmount the many challenges and obstacles facing them and their fellow veterans of war. For more information, please visit: http://www.theveteranscoalition.org/operation_denali/
New Zealand Batura Expedition
In June and July 2009, journalist and mountaineer Patricia Deavoll will lead a seasoned team of mountaineers to the western reaches of Karakoram, Pakistan. This remote region has seen very few climbers and none have attempted the southern faces of Kampire Dior and Kuk Sar in the Baltoro Glacier. The high-profile team, all hailing from New Zealand, includes Lydia Bradey, the first woman to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen, and professional guides Dean Staples and Brian Alder.
About Mountain Hardwear:
Mountain Hardwear makes cutting-edge mountaineering and outdoor equipment, apparel and accessories for the most extreme conditions. Mountain Hardwear was established in 1993 by a group of outdoor industry veterans and is based in Richmond, Calif. The company distributes its products through specialty outdoor and sporting goods retailers in the United States and over 40 countries worldwide. Mountain Hardwear has won numerous product and customer service awards since its inception, reflecting the company’s commitment and passion toward innovation. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear Company. For more information about Mountain Hardwear, visit the company’s Internet home page at http://www.mountainhardwear.com/.
Erin Brosterhous
Public Relations Associate
Mountain Hardwear and Montrail
US Mail: P.O. Box 775772
Shipping: 729 Oak Street
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477-5772
office: 970.871.1308
cell: 970.846.1684
mailto:ebrosterhous@mountainhardwear.com
http://www.mountainhardwear.com/
blog.mountainhardwear.com
http://www.montrail.com/
Richmond, CA (March 23, 2009) – Mountain Hardwear, a leading mountaineering and outdoor clothing and equipment company, announces the recipients of the 2009 Expedition Sponsorship Program. Mountain Hardwear will give total of $10,000 to help fund two expeditions: Operation Denali, enabling four wounded soldiers to overcome combat injuries and summit 20,320 ft. Mt. McKinley (Denali) in Alaska, and the New Zealand Batura Expedition, first ascents of the south faces of Kampire Dior (7,142m) and Kuk Sar (6,934m) in Northern Pakistan.
Operation Denali
A team of warriors wounded in Iraq, two of which are amputees, plans to ascend the West Buttress Route of Denali in June 2009. The four soldiers, Marc Hoffmeister (U.S. Army Officer), Matt Nyman (U.S. Army), David Shebib (U.S. Army) and Jon Kuniholm (U.S. Marine Corps), share a common goal to overcome devastating combat injuries and to summit the highest mountain in North America, a symbol of the strength of America and those who defend it. In preparation, they have worked tirelessly toward rehabilitation with sports therapists, exercise physiologists and several orthopedic doctors. They also completed a twelve-day mountaineering course with the Alaska Mountaineering School in July 2008. The four soldiers, none of whom are professional mountaineers, share a passion for the outdoors and the will and determination to surmount the many challenges and obstacles facing them and their fellow veterans of war. For more information, please visit: http://www.theveteranscoalition.org/operation_denali/
New Zealand Batura Expedition
In June and July 2009, journalist and mountaineer Patricia Deavoll will lead a seasoned team of mountaineers to the western reaches of Karakoram, Pakistan. This remote region has seen very few climbers and none have attempted the southern faces of Kampire Dior and Kuk Sar in the Baltoro Glacier. The high-profile team, all hailing from New Zealand, includes Lydia Bradey, the first woman to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen, and professional guides Dean Staples and Brian Alder.
About Mountain Hardwear:
Mountain Hardwear makes cutting-edge mountaineering and outdoor equipment, apparel and accessories for the most extreme conditions. Mountain Hardwear was established in 1993 by a group of outdoor industry veterans and is based in Richmond, Calif. The company distributes its products through specialty outdoor and sporting goods retailers in the United States and over 40 countries worldwide. Mountain Hardwear has won numerous product and customer service awards since its inception, reflecting the company’s commitment and passion toward innovation. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear Company. For more information about Mountain Hardwear, visit the company’s Internet home page at http://www.mountainhardwear.com/.
Erin Brosterhous
Public Relations Associate
Mountain Hardwear and Montrail
US Mail: P.O. Box 775772
Shipping: 729 Oak Street
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477-5772
office: 970.871.1308
cell: 970.846.1684
mailto:ebrosterhous@mountainhardwear.com
http://www.mountainhardwear.com/
blog.mountainhardwear.com
http://www.montrail.com/
Monday, February 23, 2009
Crevasse Training
Hi all,
Some of the team reinforced crevasse rescue technique training this weekend out on Matanuska Glacier up here in AK. We had beautiful sunlight conditions as the days begin to grow longer with temps from zero to the teens and a balmy negative teen something overnight. Thought we would share a few pics of the techniques used in glacier travel and crevasse rescue. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36138256@N07/sets/72157614922959461/
Some of the team reinforced crevasse rescue technique training this weekend out on Matanuska Glacier up here in AK. We had beautiful sunlight conditions as the days begin to grow longer with temps from zero to the teens and a balmy negative teen something overnight. Thought we would share a few pics of the techniques used in glacier travel and crevasse rescue. Enjoy!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36138256@N07/sets/72157614922959461/
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Susitna 100
Hi All,
This weekend marked a pretty significant training event on our schedule for Gayle and I. I raced the Susitna 100 (http://www.susitna100.com/) and Gayle competed in the Little Su 50k...a 50 km course along a portion of the 100 mile trail. For those of you not from the last frontier, the Susitna 100 is a 100 mile race through remote forests, and frozen rivers and lakes in Alaska on Foot, Bike, or Ski, the choice is yours! Gayle and I, both long time bikers, chose the bike option. The current 100-mile course has evolved through a history of tradition, opportunism, stubbornness, and confusion. In February, the trail is reduced to two colors, white and green, and is typically framed by a blue sky. Thanks to drifting snow, the region's shallow topography is barely distinguishable. This classic rendering of winter in simple colors and contours is marred only the intrusion of four-foot wide snow machine trails that run for miles across lakes and rivers and through breaks in the tree line. You are grateful for these trails, because they provide the foundation that makes human-powered travel faster than would otherwise be possible. Regardless a warm weather trend graced us with especially soft snow, a particular nemesis to bikers and runners who sank mercilessly in the drifts of snow.
We choose this event as a training objective for Operation Denali because of its extreme physical challenge coupled with the unique logistical and environmental challenges of a winter race in the Arctic...not unlike Denali, eh?
Of 89 racers for the Susitna 100, 6 didn't dare start the race and another
23 failed to complete the course. I took my time as riding is challenging with my arm limitations. The soft snow required me to push my bike and gear for around 40 miles of the course and the ridable portion was manageable only at a slow 4-8 mph. Pausing for a few cat naps and food at each of the
4 check points along the route, I managed to complete the course with a time of 38:03 hours...25th biker, 46th competitor in. Finishing was my goal and I was happy to achieve it.
Gayle's had an outstanding race and won the female bike race with a time of 8:04. She was the 37th of 63 racers. Of the original 125 racers signed up for the event, 14 failed to finish and 48 didn't even dare start. I get to brag because she won't...this was her second consecutive bike win, having won the female division in the Frosty Bottom 25 mile race in January.
Hope you all enjoy the pics...might give you a little different perspective next time you go out for a bike ride!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36138256@N07/sets/72157614922449417/
Climb on!
This weekend marked a pretty significant training event on our schedule for Gayle and I. I raced the Susitna 100 (http://www.susitna100.com/) and Gayle competed in the Little Su 50k...a 50 km course along a portion of the 100 mile trail. For those of you not from the last frontier, the Susitna 100 is a 100 mile race through remote forests, and frozen rivers and lakes in Alaska on Foot, Bike, or Ski, the choice is yours! Gayle and I, both long time bikers, chose the bike option. The current 100-mile course has evolved through a history of tradition, opportunism, stubbornness, and confusion. In February, the trail is reduced to two colors, white and green, and is typically framed by a blue sky. Thanks to drifting snow, the region's shallow topography is barely distinguishable. This classic rendering of winter in simple colors and contours is marred only the intrusion of four-foot wide snow machine trails that run for miles across lakes and rivers and through breaks in the tree line. You are grateful for these trails, because they provide the foundation that makes human-powered travel faster than would otherwise be possible. Regardless a warm weather trend graced us with especially soft snow, a particular nemesis to bikers and runners who sank mercilessly in the drifts of snow.
We choose this event as a training objective for Operation Denali because of its extreme physical challenge coupled with the unique logistical and environmental challenges of a winter race in the Arctic...not unlike Denali, eh?
Of 89 racers for the Susitna 100, 6 didn't dare start the race and another
23 failed to complete the course. I took my time as riding is challenging with my arm limitations. The soft snow required me to push my bike and gear for around 40 miles of the course and the ridable portion was manageable only at a slow 4-8 mph. Pausing for a few cat naps and food at each of the
4 check points along the route, I managed to complete the course with a time of 38:03 hours...25th biker, 46th competitor in. Finishing was my goal and I was happy to achieve it.
Gayle's had an outstanding race and won the female bike race with a time of 8:04. She was the 37th of 63 racers. Of the original 125 racers signed up for the event, 14 failed to finish and 48 didn't even dare start. I get to brag because she won't...this was her second consecutive bike win, having won the female division in the Frosty Bottom 25 mile race in January.
Hope you all enjoy the pics...might give you a little different perspective next time you go out for a bike ride!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36138256@N07/sets/72157614922449417/
Climb on!
Alaska Star Coverage
Hi everyone,
Attached is a link to a local newspaper article by Amy Schenck about Operation Denali. Hope you enjoy it!
http://www.alaskastar.com/stories/021909/New_img_1001.shtml
Climb on!
Attached is a link to a local newspaper article by Amy Schenck about Operation Denali. Hope you enjoy it!
http://www.alaskastar.com/stories/021909/New_img_1001.shtml
Climb on!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Training for Susitna 100
Morning all,
Thought you might find this short video slideshow in todays Anchorage Daily News interesting. Its about Operation Denali and racing the Susitna 100 (www.susitna100.com) as a train up:
http://community.adn.com/mini_apps/vmix/player.php?ID=2960010&GENRES=00000182&GID=118
Thanks for your continued support.
Climb On!
Thought you might find this short video slideshow in todays Anchorage Daily News interesting. Its about Operation Denali and racing the Susitna 100 (www.susitna100.com) as a train up:
http://community.adn.com/mini_apps/vmix/player.php?ID=2960010&GENRES=00000182&GID=118
Thanks for your continued support.
Climb On!
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