2009 Operation Denali: National Geographic's Best Adventure

Marc Hoffmeister, team leader of Operation Denali, was recently awarded Adventurer of the Year. This expedition had unique challenges with 4 of the 6 team members severely injured from the Iraq war. For example, Jon Kuniholm, who lost his arm to an IED, carried two extra prosthetic arms in case one broke. Matt Nyman, who lost his leg in a helicopter crash, hauled extra prosthetic legs in his sled. These guys prepared by taking an AMS mountaineering course in 2008 and made an inspiring video everyone should watch. Be warned, there are some graphic parts.

AMS took the responsibility of this expedition to heart and assigned senior Denali guide, Kirby Senden, plus two assistants, Todd Tumolo and Matt Montavon. Denali is hard for everyone; no one has ever said, "It was easy." And the mountain doesn't make concessions, period. That makes the success of this expedition that much more meaningful. Their story will be covered in National Geographic's Adventure magazine's Dec/Jan print edition and I urge you to vote for it in the Reader's Choice award.

Marc was also honored with the Alaska Governor's Veterans Advocacy Award, awarded to him on Wednesday, Veterans' Day.

Colby Coombs

Planning for 2009

This is the time of year to daydream, thinking about your next vacation and that next climb. The AMS team is here through the winter to help put it all together for you. In addition to the climbs posted on our 2009 Schedule, we will be guiding all over the Alaska Range. We also do a lot of custom climbs of Denali. We are working on expeditions on Mt. Russell and we have some folks interested in climbing Mt. Hunter and Foraker, those two noteable peaks that stand alongside Denali. This is the time to turn those daydreams into reality.

We are getting applications almost daily for the West Buttress, and we have people signing up for the Denali Traverse and the Upper West Rib routes. We are also working on custom, private climbs of the West Buttress.
One of the teams I am particularly excited about is Operation Denali. This group of wounded veterans has been training to climb Denali to raise awareness about the needs of veterans post-combat, as well as raising money for the cause and the climb. Their website explains the details and features an inspiring video of their training so far, with some footage of their 12-day Mountaineering Course with AMS in July 2008.

http://www.theveteranscoalition.org/operation_denali/

I received this quote from them today: "Regardless of your (political) position, vote this November, we’ve fought for your right to do so!"

~ Julia