What an emotional weekend. When I signed up for the Soldiers to the Summit Himalayan Expedition I did not know how much the people on this expedition would affect me.

We just completed our training at St. Mary’s Glacier. I was overwhelmed with emotion at the true heroes of this nation overcoming their individual disability and work together as a team to achieve a common goal. The range of disabilities in this group ranges from blindness, PTSD, nerve damage, and amputations. To watch these men and women push through and overcome was truly inspirational for me.

The weekend started on Wednesday August 4th. We had the privilege of speaking with President George W. Bush who really pumped us up for the weekend and the expedition in October. Part of this trip is the 10 year anniversary of Erik Weihenmayer’s successful ascent of Mt. Everest. When Erik returned 10 years ago President Bush invited Erik and his team to the oval office to congratulate them. Regardless of your politics I felt like it was a great thing for the team to speak with Mr. Bush. President Bush and I agreed to disagree on the greatest State in the US. Obviously he feels like Texas is the greatest State and I know Colorado is.

The next day we traveled to Bent Gate Mountaineering. Bent Gate was kind enough to open their store early for us to distribute gear and purchase gear that we did not have. If you need gear check out Bent Gate. They have been really good to us. The thing about mountaineering gear is that it is typically the same price wherever you shop so check out their online store and please support them. Following Bent Gate we traveled to St. Mary’s glacier and began shlepping loads up the 3/4 mile trail to the glacier. It took several trips but we got all of our gear up to the glacier. Here is a photo of our camp courtasy of Michael Brown and Serac Films:

The next morning we woke up and began our Glacier training. It was an awesome experience. There are all levels of experience on this team. For some this was the first time wearing crampons and others have been to the summit of the highest peaks in the world. We were taught skills like self-arrest, jugging a line, and crampon techniques. Here is a photo of some of the soldiers climbing the face of the glacier:

The following day we took off for James Peak Out of the soldiers and guides who set out for the summit we had 100% success to the summit. This was the most amazing experience to watch everyone trek up that mountain. I was overwhelmed with emotion watching the determination of everyone on the team. We all worked together really well and had a very successful day. Here is a photo of the team on the summit:

We returned to camp in the early afternoon and immediately broke camp. and began the process of shlepping all of the gear back our vehicles. After a great diner at Sherpa House and a meeting at Erik’s house we adjourned for the weekend.

I can not wait for October! This team has the ability to have a 100% success rate on the summit of Lobuche East a 20,075 foot peak at the foot of Mount Everest. This is a dream come true for me and I can not think of a better team to go with. This has already been a life changing experience and I can not wait to see what is in store for us in October.

Here is the info on the climb again for those of you who are interested:
Soldiers to the Summit 2010 Information

You can also find more info on: Soldiers to the Summit. If you have the means and are willing we are still trying to raise money for this climb. You can sponsor me, the team or both on Soldiers to the Summit.

I would like to personally thank all of the guides and the soldiers for an AWESOME weekend. See you in October!