Page 44 - 20145 AMA Spring

Exercise Alaskan Bugle
In May 2014 a group of novice Army AMA members launched on Ex DRAGON ALASKAN BUGLE with the aim of summiting Mount McKinley (6,194m), the highest peak in North America.
The team of 14, led by Capt Joshua Axford (1 RIFLES) was made up of two Officers, three NCOs, seven Riflemen and two attached Army Reserve personnel. On 15 June, 7 of the team successfully reached the summit in what had proved to be one of the harshest climbing seasons on McKinley in over 30 years.
Mount McKinley is found in the Denali National Park of Alaska, it is the largest mountain measured from base to peak and is also considered year round the coldest mountain in the world. The typical climbing route is known as the West Buttress route and was pioneered in 1951, this route involves progressing up the mountain through a series of 5 camps and takes on average 21 days to complete. There are no sherpas or mules so an expedition team is required to carry all equipment and supplies for the duration of the expedition in packs and pulks weighing over 100lbs. The climbing in Denali National Park is renowned for its independent and self- sufficient style along with severe sub zero conditions.
In the shaping phase of this expedition the biggest challenge lay in getting the team trained to the required standard in order to launch a safe, resilient and risk managed expedition. The team was largely made up of novice climbers who had never experienced any form of mountaineering before. This busy and critical shaping phase was 18 months in length and required the team members to attend a matrix of AT courses at various Joint Service Mountain Training Centres in order to gain the pre requisite qualifications.
On May 21 2014 the team flew on to the mountain by ski plane landing on the Kahlitna glacier at 2,100m. After a day of glacier skills and a conservative 2 nights acclimatisation at the airstrip, the first move was a steady and pleasant plod to Camp 1 (2,300m) at the base of Ski Hill. The following day, as the team began the ascent in earnest, an arctic blizzard moved in reducing visibility down to a few meters. The decision was made to dig an emergency camp at 2,800m and wait out the storm. Camp 1Alpha as we named it became a byword for a frozen hell which for a time no one thought that we would ever escape. Temperatures plummeted to -40C with wind speeds of up to 50 mph. So much snow was being blown on to our tents that a 24hr digging rota was enforced to ensure that nobody was buried alive. Conditions did not improve for 4 days. No one in the team will ever forget the experience of surviving at Camp 1Alpha.
Eventually conditions improved enough to allow for a concerted move to Camp 2 (3,400m) at the base of Motorcycle Hill. From this point on the team would be using crampons and double carrying loads up the mountain as the terrain was now too steep for snow shoes or heavy pulks. Fortunately a spell of good stable weather allowed the team to move past the infamous Windy Corner in perfect conditions. In previous years a number of climbers have met an untimely death on this perilous hanging glacier.
Now safely established at Advance Base Camp (4,300m) the team faced unpredictable weather which hindered progress for 10 days straight. Conditions would worsen rapidly and wind speeds remained above 25mph, making an ascent of the West Buttress Ridge unsafe.
Despite this delay acclimatisation to the high altitude was still an issue faced by a number of team members. Sleepless nights, lack of appetite and sever headaches were all symptoms of the reduced level of oxygen. When a break in the weather allowed movement towards high camp two team members suffered altitude sickness symptoms serious enough to halt the teams progress and require them to return to Base Camp. One rifleman’s conditions were diagnosed as showing early signs of High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). This is when a bubble forms on the brain and represents the most serious form of altitude sickness as it can cause death within just a few hours if the climber does not descend. Fortunately due to the decisions made on the mountain and despite the unsea- sonably bad weather conditions and issues with altitude sickness, none of the team suffered any serious or lasting injuries.
On the morning of the 15 June, the remaining team members, having climbed to High Camp (5,100m) the previous day in white out conditions, were faced with a marginal weather window in which to summit. An American Army team was also preparing to summit that day and so we worked together sharing the effort of placing protection and breaking trail. The weather deteriorated throughout the day so we had to move fast to avoid being caught out. Operating above 6,000m was the hardest physical challenge any of us had ever faced. However each step of the final climb up the summit ridge brought a heightened sense of euphoria as we got closer to our goal. The feeling at the summit was largely of relief. There wasn’t really much of a view to speak of, as we were above the clouds, but we celebrated nonetheless and took a few moments relishing the feeling. Of course we were aware that this was only half the job, as we still needed to get down safely and there are a number of high risk areas on the descent, not least Denali Pass, AKA the ‘Autobahn’, a 50 degree slope of ice on which it is difficult to arrest if you lose your footing.
Fortunately we made it safely back to High Camp and enjoyed a well earned ‘rest’ at 5,100m. We were woken in the morning by a rally call to assist in the rescue of a solo Polish climber who had been stuck out on the mountain overnight with a broken ankle. It turned into another joint US/UK Army operation as we assisted the park rangers with the rescue of the injured climber. Exhausted we decided to descend all the way to the airstrip in one go to get off the mountain as quickly as we could and avoid an incoming storm. 4 weeks living on Mckinley is quite an experience and an achievement of a lifetime none of us well ever forget. In all 7 of our team of 14 made it to the summit (well over the 30% success rate for the season). None of this would have been possible without the support of the Army Mountaineering Association.
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