Challenge Aspen | Climbing with the Vets

Recently Tracy and I had a chance to help out with the Challenge Aspen program that takes disabled vets climbing on Independence Pass. Most of these guys were fresh from Afghanistan and Iraq, and the trip was a welcome respite from their daily routine of hospitals and doctor visits. Several of the vets were missing legs and arms to varying degrees. The stories of how they sustained their injuries were incredible, from road side ambushes to falling out of helicopter’s while under fire.

Despite their losses, most had positive outlooks and saw these setbacks as challenges to overcome, which translated well to rock climbing. One guy, Greg, had a prosthetic leg with a modified climbing shoe made by eVolve that seemed to work really well.

The determination these guys displayed was truly inspiring as they tackled an activity that was completely out of their comfort zone. An afternoon getting to know them put a lot of things in perspective for me, including a recent “injury” to my finger which many climbers would be pissed about. How can you really be upset with the small things when you see people like this that have to deal with so much on a daily basis? Most of the time many of us around here take for granted simple things like being able to hike up a peak or go for a climb, but think about how different your life would be, both physically and mentally, if you lost one of your limbs. It was a privilege to be able to hang out with these folks for an afternoon and share an activity that brought them joy and a great sense of accomplishment.