Mountain Memorials

Memories, Lessons, and Teammates

Lately, I’ve been writing a lot about mountains. My upcoming expedition of Mount Kilimanjaro has me reliving some of my past experiences on both Denali and Aconcagua. Those past experiences are precious to me.

The memories from these adventures are things money can’t buy. The lessons learned on these trips, both in the preparation and execution, are valuable because they are useful, both personally and professionally.

But without my teammates, some of which have since died in combat, I wouldn’t have had these experiences. I wouldn’t have the fond memories of past adventures. I wouldn’t have the exciting stories to share. I wouldn’t have the valuable lessons, without these adventures and most of all, without the help of my teammates.

Denali Memorial

We originally set out to climb Denali to honor the memory of another fallen teammate, Thomas Valentine… aka “Tommy V.” Tommy was a legend in the SEAL teams, not only as a skilled operator, but for his exploits in climbing. He had been one of the few before us who dared brave the cold, and the altitude, and test himself on Denali.

Heath Robinson, another close friend and former teammate, came up with the idea. Everyone thought it couldn’t, wouldn’t or maybe even shouldn’t be done. A small group of Navy SEAL Lead Climbers would climb Denali in memory of “Tommy V”, who had died tragically in a parachuting accident.

Right before the trip to Denali, we had a memorial wall ceremony at the command. We had just returned home from a deployment in Iraq. It was a costly deployment for our team. Several of my teammates were injured either by gunfire or IED’s. Three of them, Mike, Nate, and Luis, were killed. Our gear was ready, our bags were packed. But before we the flight to Anchorage, we had a little ‘Wall Ceremony’ at our SEAL Team in their honor.

As mentioned in previous articles, Denali was no joke. Yes, I have fond memories and some cool stories. What I value most are the lessons learned and the struggles we overcame, together. There were only eight of us climbing, not counting our guides (Mark and Rolo). Six of us managed to summit. This involved two separate summit attempts, due to various levels of health and acclimation. Of the six of us who summited three have since died in combat. Rob Reeves, John Faas, and Heath Robison sacrificed their own lives for our country.

Heath was the ‘Trip Lead.’ He was not just an awesome SEAL Operator, he was legendary for the trips he could set up. He was the driving force, the unstoppable force, behind this whole endeavor. Everyone said it couldn’t be done. He would find a way, or make one. He had dreams of someday climbing all “7 Summits.” He also wanted to honor Tommy V on this particular summit bid. Now, it seems so ironic to me that Heath along with Rob and John would die just a few years later.

Aconcagua Memorial

Roughly one year later, many of us would return to the high mountains. This time to attempt a summit of Aconcagua. I’ve also written about this expedition in previous articles. There were many similarities, and many differences. Most of all, there were many new things to learn. Mountains have a way of teaching you about things… especially yourself. We don’t really conquer the mountain. The mountain tolerates us long enough to summit (hopefully). Mostly, along the way, we have to prevail over our own minds and bodies.

This trip was all about momentum. Some of us had already climbed Denali. Why not try to knock out another one of the world’s tallest mountains, another one of planet Earth’s “7 Summits?” Why not test ourselves on the highest peak in South America? Let’s go to Argentina and climb Aconcagua!

Rob Reeves was the trip lead this time. Like Heath, Rob was a stellar operator. Like Heath, Rob was an awesome teammate and close friend. Rob was also a really amazing ‘Trip Lead.’ No detail was taken for granted and no aspect of the whole trip was left to chance. Every day and every hour was planned with agonizing detail. There were contingency plans for all contingencies. Like Denali, it was an amazing trip, an amazing adventure. Top notch in every aspect… because Rob was in charge.

On this trip, we had nine climbers. This time, all nine of us summited. It was a 100% success rate. It was by no means ‘easy’, but in some ways it was ‘easier’. It was higher, but not as cold. We took a photo on the summit. Since that photo was taken, five of my fellow climbers died in combat. Three of them, John, Heath, and Rob, were on Denali. The other two, Brian Bill and Tom Ratzlaff, were not with us there.

Memories in Pictures

Today, I have both of these photos framed. One from the summit on Denali. The other taken at the summit of Aconcagua. When I look at them, I remember the adventure, and the hardship we shared together on those big climbs. Most of all, I remember the service and the sacrifices of my brave teammates. Pictures like this remind me to be grateful for what I have, and to live a life worthy of their sacrifice. Also, to live a life worthy of the sacrifices paid by so many other brave men and women who went into harms way and paid the ultimate price for freedoms we enjoy today. Pictures like this help give me perspective and not take things for granted.

New Memories to Make

This summer, I’ll be going back to the mountains. This summer, I’ll be attempting another one of the “7 Summits.” It was Heath’s dream to someday climb them all. That’s not really goal of mine. I don’t have the time, or the money required to attempt Everest. I’m probably not doing to make a trip to Russia anytime soon to climb Mount Elbrus. Mount Vinson is very “interesting” to me, but it’s located deep in the frozen interior of Antarctica. It’s pretty remote, pretty cold, and pretty expensive. Most of all, I don’t think my wife really wants me to go risk my life just to knock out some more bucket list climbs.

But I am going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. God willing, with good luck, good weather, and good health, I will summit. This climb is different. We are not climbing to check the box, or for the accomplishment. We are climbing for a bigger purpose: to raise money and awareness for an Omaha based on-profit doing amazing work in West Africa. Global Partners in Hope build water wells and medical treatment centers in remote villages where clean water and medical care are scarce luxuries. This expedition is more about what happens because of the climb, not on the climb itself.

The New Team

On this climb, I’ll be going with an amazing group of people. Some are fellow board members of Global Partners in Hope. Some are friends or family members of those board members. All of us are there for the challenge, the adventure, and the struggle. Everyone will learn something new, especially about themselves. Most of all, we are there to hopefully make a difference.

My son Luke will be joining me on this expedition. We’ve shared many adventures in the mountains together before, but nothing like this. It will be special to share this trip, and the memories with him. It will be a good for him to experience the hardship of hiking all day, eating dehydrated food, enduring the cold and the altitude, all to be rewarded with a ground pad and a sleeping bag each night. For me, it will be a good reminder. I’ve experienced ‘all of that’ before, but it’s been a while…

This time, I won’t be climbing with my Navy SEAL Teammates. But they will be with me in my thoughts. Especially those teammates who joined me on previous climbs and later died in combat, in service to our great nation.

Memorial Day

It was my privilege to serve our country, and it was an honor to fight alongside the likes of John, Rob, Heath, Brian, Tom, and so many others who paid the ultimate price. A good friend of mine once said, “Everyone who joins the military signs a blank check. Uncle Sam fills out the amount and decides when to cash it.” My friends, teammates, and brothers didn’t know it would cost them everything.

This weekend, we’ll gather around swimming pools, or maybe even head to the lake. We’ll sit about grills, go to the park, enjoy a few burgers and a couple of beers. Some of us will even have a few grad parties to attend. Then on Monday, we’ll get an extra day off. We’ll be preoccupied with planning and enjoying a long weekend.

I gotta believe, that’s exactly what my teammates would want. They fought for precisely that. So we could all enjoy the freedoms and opportunities this great nation provides. We should not feel guilty about it.

My challenge to everyone, MYSELF INCLUDED, is to take just a moment to remember WHY we celebrate Memorial Day and WHAT others have sacrificed so that we can.

Have a fun and safe weekend. God bless America!

Onward, and Upward!

From the Plains to the mountains