Page 32 - Bugle Autumn 2014

Ex ALASKAN BUGLE
In May 2014 the Alaskan Bugle team led by Capt Joshua Axford were ready to launch a summit attempt on the highest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley (6,194m) in the Denali national park of Alaska. McKinley is the largest of any mountain measured from base to peak and is also considered year round the coldest mountain in the world. It would be the challenge of a lifetime and would provide a legacy which will benefit The Rifles for years to come.
Over the last 18 months the team had attended various training courses and exercises in preparation for the expedition, gaining qualifications through the military adventurous training scheme which took them to many locations including the Swiss and Bavarian Alps, the Scottish Highlands and the mountains of North Wales.
The mountain is climbed by scaling the west buttress though a series of 5 camps, with a total elevation climb of 4,100m. There are no sherpas or mules, all kit for the 4 week expedition is carried by each individual in sleds and packs which at the beginning of the expedition weigh over 100lbs per man.
The team were flown on to the glacier by ski plane and landed at base camp (2,100m) on the 24 May. From here the team moved, roped
was buried alive.
Eventually conditions improved enough
for the team to move forward to camp 2 (3,300m). During this leg the team would have to traverse a perilous 200m wide sloped hanging glacier renowned for high winds and a large amount of exposure. In the past a number of teams have been blown off here and have met an untimely death; fortunately for the 1 RIFLES team the conditions were perfect.
had also shown signs of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and Hypothermia on the climb so the decision was made that those Riflemen would descend to base camp to recover. Corporal Saul Brunt showed an enormous amount of selfless commitment in volunteering to guide them down, therefore sacrificing his own summit attempt.
On the morning of the 14 June a weather report was received which finally brought a glimmer of hope. The prediction was that
During the climb a
storm moved in and
forced the team to
dig an emergency camp at 2,800m. The
40 mph winds, white out conditions and extreme temperatures of below -40C meant the team were battened down for four
days waiting for the storm to break. During this time over a foot of snow was being transported every hour which meant the team had to keep a constant rota going to dig out the tents and ensure that no one
30 FIRST BATTALION
high altitude cerebral endema (HACE) as
a result of the low levels of oxygen. It only left us one choice which was to descend immediately, if untreated HACE can result in death in a matter of hours and the best treatment is descending to a lower altitude. The team descended back to camp 3 where the team doctor treated the Rifleman who had become ill. Two other Riflemen
From Camp 3 it
takes a further 3 days
to reach the summit.
Time is spent here
acclimatising to the
altitude and waiting
for the conditions to
be safe enough for a
summit attempt. This
season had proved to be one of the most challenging and unpredictable for over
30 years as the weather was constantly variable and marginal at best; from one day to the next the weather reports would be wildly different making it very difficult to make a safe decision. The summit rate for the season so far was 20% well below the 65% average for a normal season.
On 11 June a marginal weather window appeared. However the team needed to
the next day’s wind speeds would be below 20 mph at the summit for the first time in 2 weeks which would allow for a relatively safe summit attempt. The seven remaining team members moved up
to high camp (5,200m) through knee deep snow in white out conditions that evening and had a nights “rest” at the high altitude camp. The following morning 2 rope teams from 1 RIFLES made a bid for the summit. The temperature was below -40C but the team were fully aware that the weather window was limited, so a move needed to be made. We ascended to the summit on the same day as a team from the American Army and worked together with them in breaking trail through the fresh snow and placing protection. As we reached 6,000m the climbing became increasingly tough with one final steep section to ascend. The summit ridge was breathtaking with each step bringing a new sense of euphoria as we drew ever closer to the summit.
The feeling on the summit was of immense relief and accomplishment. It had been 18 months in the planning and we had finally made it to the top. We spent 20 minutes together up there taking it all in before heading back down, very aware that the job was not over until we were down safely. That day all 7 of the remainder of the team successfully summited the mountain.
Back at high camp we had another night THE RIFLES
The summit ridge was breathtaking with each step bringing a new sense of euphoria
up into 4 rope teams ascending through the series of lower camps by hauling kit up the mountain in stages.
Corporal Saul Brunt showed an enormous amount of selfless commitment
move that evening. During the move, after 4 hours of climbing with the temperature falling rapidly, one of the Riflemen started to show early signs of