By Nick Watson
How does a group of veterans get the chance to climb with elite mountaineer Conrad Anker? Why organize such a trip? These are the questions asked of me after unloading the van full of veterans and their equipment from our latest trip to Montana. They are easy questions to answer.
It was actually Conrad’s idea and it came about when VetEx (define VetEx) ran a trip in Glacier National Park last August with Conrad Anker and James Baylog of Chasing Ice. The trip was a veteran-led climate recon team that was to look at climate change on an up close and personal level. On that trip our veterans got to climb a very remote peak in the park with Conrad Anker.
The trip was sponsored by the Sierra Club, who is making a film about the trip. On the summit of Blackfoot Mountain, Conrad suggested that the veterans visit Montana the following winter and climb ice in Hyalite Canyon and that’s exactly what we did. We spent 4 nights out winter camping on the Hyalite trip.
The time out on the mountain in winter with other vets is therapeutic for many reasons. The time spent away from technology is a welcome change. All you have to focus on is climbing and hanging out with one another.
Why Ice Climbing Helps
We climb ice with groups of veterans because it is fun, it is challenging, and it brings us what we miss from active duty military service: camaraderie, team work and being a part of something bigger than ourselves. Trips like these help us step back, relax, talk about things we don’t talk to everyone about, and then take it all back to our day to day lives. Veterans learn new skills and develop old skills with the help of other veterans doing the same. Trips like these help fill the void created by the normalcy of civilian life, and help with that difficult transition from active duty service to civilian society.
Each of the 11 veterans on the trip has rich stories and experiences to share from their time in the service. All those stories help shed light on the experiences of our men and women who serve in our military. It is so refreshing for me to see a diverse group of military veterans work together and become functioning members of our backcountry team. The bonds and connections made will stay with them long after the trip is over.
I feel so fortunate to witness this over and over again. If the people of our nation could only see and witness what I experience on these trips and expeditions, then veterans would have all the resources they need.
Army Veterans Nick Watson and Stacy Bare founded Veteran Expeditions, lead groups of veterans on outdoor climbing expeditions. Click here for a more complete description on the founding of Veterans Expeditions.
Nick Watson, a veteran who was a sergeant in the Army Rangers, co-founded Vet Expedition with another veteran.
