Video

Video by Sgt. Sean Callahan

NWTC and 1/25 SBCT Summit Mt. McKinley

1st Brigade, 11th Airborne Division

June 7, 2013 | 10:27

A team of eight U. S. Army Alaska Soldiers and one civilian adviser
successfully reached the top of the tallest peak in North America earlier this
week.

The team, led by instructors from the Northern Warfare Training Center here,
has been training for this event since mid-February and succeeded in reaching
the summit at 8:02 p.m. June 1.

Three of the team members are from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th
Infantry Division, also stationed at Fort Wainwright. The Soldiers began their
adventure May 20, when they flew aboard U.S. Army Alaska Aviation Task Force
CH-47 Chinook helicopters to the National Park Service base camp on Kahiltna
Glacier at the 6,800-foot level of the mountain.
Mount McKinley is the highest mountain peak in North America with a summit
elevation of 20,320 feet above sea level.
Although climbing such a large mountain is an accomplishment hundreds of
mountain climbers strive for on a yearly basis, the command team at the NWTC
say they have already succeeded by going above and beyond the basics, gaining
more advanced skills and passing these skills down through the Soldiers they
have taught to their parent units back at Fort Wainwright.

The nine climbers ascended in three three-man rope teams.
Rope Team 1:
First Sergeant Tom Dow (NWTC) Home town: Cortland, N.Y.
Staff Sergeant Seth Toy (NWTC) Home town: Conde S.D
Staff Sergeant Joshua Sedivy (NWTC) Home town: South Sioux City, Neb

Rope Team 2:
Staff Sergeant Zachary McGee (NWTC) Home town: Ledbetter, Ky.
Specialist Colton Carr (1-25th SBCT) Home town: Clay County, Ala
Specialist Jacob Pendigrist (1-25th SBCT) Home town: Clearwater, Fla

Rope Team 3:
Karl Slingerland (Army civilian with NWTC) Home Town: N.Y
Sergeant Travis Jenkins (NWTC) Home Town: Titusville, Fla
Private First Class Giovanni Aleman (1-25th SBCT) Home Town: Riverside, Calif.