operation
DENALI 2009
|
Overview |
| Team | |
| TIMELINE | |
| Logistics | |
| Sponsors | |
| News Coverage | |
| About Denali | |
| Links | |
| Donations |
Expedition Timeline
| Date | Event |
| 1-Jun-09 | Day 1 Orientation, gear check, NPS registration, pack lunches, fly to Base Camp, distance: 60 miles, elevation gain: 6850’. |
| 2-Jun-09 | Day 2 Base Camp: organize, acclimate, review glacier travel and crevasse rescue. |
| 3-Jun-09 | Day 3 Single to Ski Hill, Camp 1, 7,800’, distance: 5.5 miles, elevation gain: 600’. |
| 4-Jun-09 | Day 4 Carry to Kahiltna Pass, 9,700’, distance: 5 miles, elevation gain: 1900’. |
| 5-Jun-09 | Day 5 Move to Kahiltna Pass, Camp 2, 9,700’, distance: 5 miles, elevation gain: 1900’. |
| 6-Jun-09 | Day 6 Single to 11,000’, Camp 3, distance: 1.5 miles, elevation gain: 1300’. |
| Purple Heart Trail Dedication | |
| 7-Jun-09 | Day 7 Rest day |
| 8-Jun-09 | Day 8 Carry to 13,500’ around Windy Corner, distance: 1.75 miles, elevation gain: 2500’. |
| 9-Jun-09 | Day 9 Move to 14,200’, Camp IV, distance: 2.75 miles, elevation gain: 3200’. |
| 10-Jun-09 | Day 10 Back carry 13,500’ cache, distance: 1 mile, elevation gain: 700’. |
| 11-Jun-09 | Day 11 Carry to 16,200’ , distance: 1 mile, elevation gain: 2000’. |
| 12-Jun-09 | Day 12 Rest at 14,200’. |
| 13-Jun-09 | Day 13 Move to 16,200 feet or 17,200’, Camp V, distance: 1.75 miles, elevation gain: 3000’. |
| 14-Jun-09 | Day 14 Rest day or move to 17,200 feet, C amp VI, distance: 1.75 miles, elevation gain: 3000’. |
| 15-18 Jun 09 | Day 15, 16, 17, 18 Summit days, distance: 4 miles, elevation gain: 3120’. |
| 19-Jun-09 | Day 19 Return to 14,200 feet or 11,000’, distance: 2.25 miles. |
| 20-Jun-09 | Day 20 Return to Base Camp, 7,200’, distance: 11.25 miles. |
| 21-Jun-09 | Day 21 Fly back to Talkeetna. |
Note: The blog
on Defenselink.mil will update roughly every other day during the
expedition,
beginning 01 June. Purple Heart radio interview updates from the
mountain will hopefully be posted on 01, 08, 15, and 20 June.
All updates are weather and equipment dependent, we'll do our best!
More team updates: Alaska Mountaineering School Expedition Blogs
National Park Service Climb Statistics
Live Team GPS Feed
LEGEND: OK = Leaving camp, Track =
location during movement, Help = Arrival in camp (NOT a help request!)
Operation Denali successfully funded the majority of our expedition through
the incredible generosity of many individuals and our sponsors.
But we're not done!...all funds raised during the climb will be donated to support similar opportunities for wounded warriors like ourselves through organizations like Paradox Sports and the Wounded Warrior Project. If you find our mission inspirational, help us help others and donate!
Thank you Operation Denali Sponsors!
Watch news coverage of Operation Denali:
Video: Operation Denali trains at the AMS Mountaineering School
Watch on You Tube
Download this video:
Our Mission:
Enable four Warriors wounded in the Global War on Terrorism to overcome devastating combat injuries and successfully summit 20,320 ft Denali, the highest mountain in North America, symbolizing the strength of our Nation and those who defend it.
Objectives:
1. To raise awareness for the needs of severely injured service men and women
2. To work
together to overcome our physical limitations and achieve a common goal made to
seem insurmountable by the impact of our injuries on our lives
3. To demonstrate by performance and example that no obstacle is so great that the human spirit cannot overcome it
The physical struggle to survive and overcome visible combat wounds is obvious to the casual observer, but it is the battle of rediscovery that is the longest, most hard fought struggle a Wounded Warrior must face.
There is an insidious threat, buried in the soul of every warrior who has left a part of himself upon the field of battle. To fall prey to this threat is to become the greatest casualty …he who forgets himself - what he once was and what he can still be. To be this casualty is to give up the fight, to wallow in your condition with no trace of hope, no recognition of what is still possible.
"It’s been almost a year now since the IED strike ripped through my body and
changed my path so quickly. My body is still intact, sort of. Not all of my men
were so lucky. But I’m no longer the man I once was. My left arm is titanium
from wrist to elbow and then some. I lost 50% 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. After months of hospitalization, 8 surgeries, and the constant pain
of therapy, I allowed my wounds to convince me that chance was gone, but
not anymore. I will climb this mountain to remember who I am and for
the Wounded Warrior’s like me, to shrug off the limits of perception
formed within the scars of our wounds. If my fight to not be 'that guy'
can be an inspiration to another Warrior, then I don’t want it to be a
secret. And when I summit, I will have likeminded Warriors at my side because
I know that I am not alone in this desire."
----- Marc Hoffmeister, Team Leader, Operation Denali
If you have questions about our mission, contact Marc Hoffmeister.
If you want to help the team raise funding for other Wounded Warriors, please donate! All donations are fully tax deductible and processed by the Veterans Fund of the United States, a non-profit veterans service organization with an IRS determination of 501 (c) (3) and ID #23-287794.