FORT DRUM -- Soldiers assigned to 10th Sustainment Brigade will be given an opportunity to embrace the 10th Mountain Division (LI) heritage of mountain warfare by climbing Whiteface Mountain on Friday during Muleskinner Challenge VIII.

The competition is a six-mile climb up Whiteface Mountain, which allows young Soldiers and leaders to challenge themselves physically and mentally. This challenge can help build esprit de corps among Soldiers and their units, as well as instill a sense of pride and belonging to the 10th

Sustainment Brigade, and the great mountain division heritage.

This challenge is not unfamiliar to the Muleskinners. Soldiers climbed the mountain for Muleskinner Challenge V in September 2011.

Teams throughout the brigade have been training for the challenge for weeks. Each team will consist of three Soldiers.

Soldiers may compete in the all-male, all-female or mixed team categories. Teams with a commander, first sergeant or sergeant major may compete in the command team category.

Each Soldier must complete the entire course to be eligible for an award.

"The last Muleskinner Challenge mountain climb I participated in was a true challenge for me, but all the climbing, complaining, sweating and then freezing at the top was worth every second," said Sgt. Nathan R. Mast, a brigade command group driver assigned to 10th Special Troops Battalion.

"The view from the top was amazing, and the feeling of accomplishment combined with the endorphin rush had me smiling in the shuttle all the way back to the bottom of the mountain," he added.

There will be five aid stations with medics throughout the course with food and water for Soldiers competing in the challenge.

"The camaraderie I built with my teammates and the other Soldiers, as we all worked to climb to the summit, is a memory I cherish still," Mast said.