‘Tis the Season to Scale Mt. McKinley’s Pinnacle

The Army Chinook helicopter hovered over the Kahiltna Glacier, its blades whipping the surface snow into a glittering white fog as it gingerly touched down.

Moments later, two other Chinooks joined the first at Mt. McKinley’s 7,200-foot level. It was time for the Army’s yearly mission: delivering the makings of base camp for National Park Service rangers and most climbers tackling North America’s tallest peak.

Just before climbing season kicks off each May, the “Sugar Bears” -- formally known as Company B, 4th Battalion, 123rd Aviation Regiment -- haul food, communications equipment, three body bags, prefabricated shelters and other essentials to Kahiltna’s northeast fork, the launching point for climbers attempting the West Buttress route.

The Ft. Wainwright-based team also drops off survival and rescue supplies at the 14,200-foot level -- about two-thirds up the 20,320-foot peak -- where the elevation can lead to oxygen deprivation.

The effort is a training exercise for the regiment’s high-altitude rescue team. The team’s expertise also serves as a model for Army Chinook crews operating in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, said Lt. Col. Randolph Rotte, commander of the 4-123rd. Units heading to that country have contacted the Alaska team for guidance in dealing with high-altitude missions, he said.

“Aircraft perform differently in thin air,” Rotte said. “There’s a pretty steep learning curve and in the aviation business, you can’t afford a steep learning curve. That’s when bad things happen.”

The Park Service, which began erecting the base camp April 25, doesn’t have anything near the size of the Army Chinooks. It would take 10 trips on the park’s smaller chopper for every Chinook load, said Roger Robinson, lead mountaineering ranger for Denali National Park and Preserve.

“Without the Army’s help, it would not be happening like this,” Robinson said as soldiers worked against a backdrop of snow-marbled granite. The unloading began after rangers probed the snow to make sure that there were no hidden chasms.

The soldiers moved quickly, their breath frosting the air. A few tossed wisecracks as they added to the growing pile of tarps, wooden slats and boxes.

The Park Service would later transform the mishmash into a makeshift town for rangers and volunteers and, soon, a bustling hub for climbers. This will be the launching point for an estimated 95% of the 1,076 people who have signed up to tackle McKinley this season. It’s also a popular stop for hundreds of non-climbing tourists who fly up on air taxis.

“It’s not unusual to see seven planes here at one time on some days,” Robinson said. “It can be a mob scene.”

Robinson said the Park Service had enlisted the help of the unit since 1984, but had relied on the military to help with rescues for decades.

“Helping us with base camp allows us to have a safer season, and it allows the Army to train at high altitudes so they are proficient in being able to maneuver in rugged, mountainous conditions,” he said.

At the end of the climbing season in July, the Chinooks return to remove equipment from the mountain. After completing that job last year, the Sugar Bears went through vigorous rescue training, courtesy of the Park Service. Colby Coombs, a veteran mountaineer who leads McKinley expeditions, participated as an instructor in the three-day session, which simulated a helicopter accident in crevasse terrain southeast of McKinley.

Coombs, who is preparing for his 15th climb on McKinley, said he was impressed with the enthusiasm of the soldiers -- whether in rescue training or delivering camp supplies.

“It’s a hoot for them,” Coombs said. “You can’t pick a more extreme mountain environment to train in.”

After the Kahiltna delivery, it was time for more training.

Two Chinooks headed to the main stretch of the glacier. Over and over, crews practiced landing the choppers, sometimes skidding the length of a football field. The landscape was so blindingly white, it was hard to tell if the Chinook was 10 feet from the surface or 100 feet.

Then crews practiced high-altitude rescue techniques. As one Chinook hovered to observe, the other touched down on narrow peaks, its landing skis teetering from dizzying heights.

Mastering precarious maneuvers in this unforgiving place prepares the Sugar Bears to provide backup rescue support. The Park Service handles most rescues, but calls on the Army for help at high elevations when the Park Service’s smaller Llama helicopter is not enough or not available.

In the highest rescue on McKinley, a Chinook carried rangers to 19,600 feet in June 1995 to pick up two Spanish climbers suffering from frostbite and altitude sickness.

Chief Warrant Officer Wade Boynton, one of the Chinook pilots practicing the Kahiltna landings, recalled his participation in a June 2000 rescue. A Russian climber fell 400 feet from the 17,400-foot level as he descended unroped from Denali Pass, the site of more accidents than any other part of the mountain. The climber, with several broken ribs, was carried to the 17,200-foot camp, where he received emergency care, but low clouds and winds gusting to 40 mph prevented an aerial rescue.

When the climber’s condition worsened, rangers organized a ground evacuation, lowering him to the 14,200-foot camp nearly two days later. Meanwhile, the Sugar Bears were at Talkeetna, about 55 miles away, waiting for the weather to improve. Their break came that evening, when the clouds cleared just long enough to pick up the injured climber.

“It felt great at the end of the day, when you know you’ve made a difference,” Boynton said. “It’s a real good feeling.”

Since 1999, there have been 39 major rescues and one climber fatality. Since 1932, the first year fatalities were logged, 92 people have died.