Wounded Vets’ McKinley Climb Cut Short by Weather, not Disability

Five men severely wounded in war, including four who had amputations, had to abandon their climb of North America’s tallest peak, but say it was weather and not their disabilities that ended the summit attempt.

The men descended Alaska’s Mount McKinley on Monday. The climb of the 20,320-foot mountain started on June 11.

They spent nine days waiting out weather at the 14,200-foot level. On Saturday, they again attempted to make 16,200 feet, but were turned back by a blizzard.

The expedition was also close to running out of food and time on their climbing permits, factors that led to the decision to end the attempt.

Climber Stephen Martin, 42, isn’t calling it defeat; he calls his encounter with Mount McKinley a tie. “I took everything it could give me, we just ran out of time,” he said Tuesday by telephone from his home in Phoenix.

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