Soldiers test skills, Army Mountaineering Kit against North America's tallest peak

By Staff Sgt. Mylinda DuRousseauMay 29, 2014

Getting ready
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Garrett Oldsen, a scout with 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, unloads supplies at Kahiltna Glacier Base Camp, Alaska, May 21, 2014. The Fort Wainwright-based 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, climbing team, began the... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Base Camp
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Scott Skipper, a health care specialist with 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, shovels snow onto a reflective blanket at the Kahiltna Glacier Base Camp, Alaska, May 21, 2014. The Fort ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Unloading
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Members of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, climbing team unload supplies at Kahiltna Glacier Base Camp, Alaska, May 21, 2014. The Fort Wainwright-based team began their ascent to the summit of Mount McKinley, which at 20,... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

MOUNT MCKINLEY, Alaska (May 28, 2014) -- Seven Soldiers from 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, arrived at Kahiltna Glacier Base Camp here, May 21, in preparation for their ascent of Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America.

The Fort Wainwright-based team is prepared to spend 14-21 days ascending more than 13,000 feet in some of the most severe conditions in Alaska, in a test of their high altitude and mountaineering skills as well as the Army Mountaineering Kit.

"(While) climbing McKinley, these Soldiers are going to live in unheated tents for about 20 days," said Capt. Sam Palmer, 1/25 SBCT climbing team leader. "They're going to learn arctic and cold-weather skills on a level no one else in their unit is going to have (before), and they are going to be able to bring that depth of knowledge back [to the unit]."

Team members' mountaineering skills range from having climbed McKinley last year, to skiing for the first time in March. Their training began three months ago and was designed to ensure each Soldier would be prepared for this climb, regardless of their experience level.

With their training behind them and the mountain before them, the team joked and laughed as they trekked across the snow, hauling their equipment from the plane to their camp, setting up tents and making preparations.

"The knowledge I'm gaining here and how everything incorporates in movement and being physical I can bring that back to my unit," said Spc. Joshua Sexton, a cannon crew member with 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment. "We do a lot of training and snow shoeing and skiing, so taking that back and explaining to the guys, how temperatures work and elevation and how to move through it, that could be a big help to us."

Although the Army has had teams climb the mountain since 1980, this is the first year they will be doing so relying completely on the Army Mountaineering Kit. In the past, the Soldiers have worn a mix of civilian and Army gear. Changes in the Army's cold-weather uniform, which includes silk base layers, windproof jackets and a soft-shell outer layer, make them fit for climbing McKinley, Palmer said.

In addition to clothing the Army Mountaineering Kit provides, the Soldiers will climb with anchors, ropes, ice axes, crampons and a variety of equipment to help them traverse the unique terrain they will face. The kits also feature avalanche transceivers, gadgets that send a locating signal out in case Soldiers are buried in an avalanche

Upon returning to their units, the team members will share what they have learned from this experience with their fellow Soldiers and instruct them in how these skills can be used in any of the areas across the Pacific that they may be called upon to serve.

"The expedition validates training procedures used to maintain readiness for operating in austere, high-altitude, extreme cold-weather environments," said Lt. Col. Alan Brown, U.S. Army Alaska spokesperson.

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