Dyess Airman climbs highest peak in North America

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. A.C. Eggman
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (ACCNS) --  It took 14 days of fighting wind, snow, glaciers and a lack of oxygen, but one Dyess Airman finally reached the highest summit in North America June 13. 

Capt. Erin VanOosten, 40th Airlift Squadron tactics officer and C-130 pilot, left Dyess May 28 and headed to Alaska to join five other Airmen to climb 20,320 feet to the summit of Mount McKinley, also known as Denali. 

"It was the most difficult and rewarding experience of my life," said the captain. "It was truly an amazing experience." 

The desire to climb the mountain began after the captain learned of a group known as the "Seven Summits Challenge" team. The group was co-founded by Capt. Rob Marshall, a friend from the Air Force Academy, she said. "I found out about the climb last fall and sent in an application," said Captain VanOosten. 

The "challenge" was formed in March 2005 by Capts. Mark Uberuaga and Marshall while they were stationed at Royal Air Base Mildenhall, England. The base had just lost 11 Airmen in a helicopter crash. During the aftermath of the crash, the captains learned about the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides free scholarship grants to the children of military personnel killed in the line of duty. Both captains were avid mountain climbers, so the two formed the team to raise funds for the foundation and to help the Airmen deal with the loss. 

"The goal of our group is to be the first U.S. Armed Services team to reach the summit of the highest mountain on each of the seven continents," said Captain VanOosten, a Michigan native. 

The seven summits include Mount Elbrus, Europe, at 18, 510 feet; Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa, at 19,340 feet; Mount Aconcagua, South America, at 22, 834 feet; Mount Kosciuszko, Australia, at 7,310 feet; Vinson Massif, Antarctica, at 16,067 feet; Mount Everest, Asia, at 29,035 feet. Completing Mount McKinley marks the fourth summit in the Air Force Seven Summits Challenge. Vinson Massif, Mount Kosciuszko and Mount Everest remain on the list to be conquered. 

The "challenge" team currently has 25 members, but only six members were able to make the Alaskan trip. The size of the teams for each climb depends on availability, said Captain VanOosten. 

Once accepted to the team, the 29-year-old pilot started training at home by running 10 miles every other day and using other fitness equipment to simulate hill climbing.
"It took several months to get ready," said the captain, who began mountain climbing two years ago. "I love the outdoors and the feeling you get when you're on top of the mountain." 

Even though Captain VanOosten had not met her teammates until the day before they scaled the mountain on May 30, she was excited and ready for the challenges that lay ahead. 

"Denali is a very difficult mountain to climb because of latitude. It is very cold and the lack of oxygen above 10,000 feet is definitely an obstacle," she said. 

The second day of their climb, the team took a break at about 10,000 feet and performed a pinning on ceremony for Timothy Gannon to first lieutenant. 

The day they reached the summit, an F-22 Raptor from Elemendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, performed a fly-by, which the team had prior coordinated. "That was definitely an adrenaline boost," said Captain VanOosten. 

Throughout the climb the weather was mostly in their favor, until summit day when the team ran into some bad weather. "We lucked out with the weather up until that point. Denali is known for bad and unpredictable weather," she said. 

During June in Alaska, the sun sets for only a short period of time during the day, which offered the team an incredible view of the mountain once the weather broke. "It was a very pretty sight to see what we had just climbed," said the seven-year Air Force veteran. 

Denali has had about a 50 percent summit success rate over the past 50 years. "You have to have a lot of endurance physically and mentally to push through," said the captain. "We were able to make it to the summit successfully because we had a really good group and we worked well together." 

The captain intends to participate in future climbs as a way to promote Air Force fitness, build morale and to help raise money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. The "Seven Summits Challenge" raised $15,000 from the Mount McKinley climb and has raised nearly $35,000 donated to date. 

Anyone interested in making a donation or being a part of the "challenge," can go to 
www.usaf7summits.com for additional information.