65 -1 <strong>Far</strong> <strong>West</strong> <strong>Ski</strong>er’s Guide / Digital Edition 2O12 - 2O13Disabled Sports USA executive directorKirk Bauer, a Vietnam Veteran and abovekneeamputee, organized a “WarfighterSports” team committed to this phenomenalchallenge. Kirk’s courageous teammates wereNeil Duncan and Steve Martin, both doublelegamputees injured in Afghanistan, DavidBorden, above-knee amputee injured in Iraq,but with his protheses in place, returned tocombat in Afghanistan, and Jesse Acosta withpermanent damage to his back, hip and legfrom serving in Iraq.With much generous outside support andafter six months of treacherous training, theteam planned their “Denali Challenge” startingand ending on special American holidays:They aimed to begin on Memorial Day witha planned return about the Fourth of July.The Warfighter Sports team, physicallyIt’s noeasy taskto lugall thenecessarygearalongthe trekto thesummit.It’s nowonderthetrainingprogramis soextensive!and mentally prepared and strong, was readyto give it their all. Throughout their climb, theVets encountered enormous challenges, thebiggest being the unpredictable weather with70 mph wind gusts, severe snowstorms, avalanches,deep crevasses and ice, along with theblistering sun. Prostheses malfunctions oftenimpeded their progress with knees, ankles andfeet freezing up. They all were tested to extremes,as never before. Extreme conditionsand temperatures took their toll. After 18days, at 14,200 feet, the team was forced totake a rest to make repairs and wait forweather improvement. After nine days at thiscamp, the team decided to make one final attemptto reach the summit. But, it wasn’tmeant to be, the weather worsened, and at15,500 feet, the team was forced to turn back...4,820 feet before reaching the summit!Team Warfighter Sports attemptedto climb Denali in Alaska. At 20,320feet, it’s the highest mountain inNorth America. Being so far north,it’s also one of the coldest. Temperaturescan reach 40° F below zero.Team Warfighter Sports’ disappointmentwas great. But, soon they reminded themselvesof the other reason for attempting this“Denali Challenge”, which was to inspire othersabout what is possible. Now they wereproud of their accomplishment, they hadtested their limits! They hoped to raise awarenessof the abilities of our nation’s woundedwarriors and to inspire others with disabilitiesto keep going, even after disappointments.Kirk Bauer spoke for the whole team whenhe stated, “I am very proud of what TeamWarfighter Sports accomplished. Although wedidn’t reach the summit, if the weather had cooperated,we would have prevailed. Everywounded warrior and person with disability facessetbacks, often out of their control, and each onemust make a choice to either let setbacks defeatthem or drive them forward. This experience willdrive us forward and we hope our decision to climbwill inspire other wounded and disabled to do soas well”.In 2010, Kirk Bauer led a team of all amputeeveterans of the Iraq and Afghanistanwars on a successful summit of Mt. Kiliman-NOTE: More information at: http://dsusa.org/ andwww.warfightersports.org/#!denali27 <strong>Far</strong> <strong>West</strong> <strong>Ski</strong>er’s Guide / Digital Edition Insert 2O12 - 2O13
The group remained at Camp 3 for more than a week waiting forthe weather to change. It did not cooperate for the Denali 2012 climb.RIGHT: Solar blankets help for warmth. photos / Disabled Sports USA<strong>Far</strong> <strong>West</strong> <strong>Ski</strong>er’s Guide / Digital Edition Insert 2O12 - 2O13 28
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