Operation Denali receives this year´s Mountain Hardwear Expedition Sponsorship, enabling four wounded soldiers to realize their dream of summitting 20,320 Mt. Mckinley (Denali) in Alaska.

“The support of the incredible folks at Mountain Hardwear, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Wounded WarriorProject and countless others have made the dreamof Operation Denali possible,” Galye Hoffmeister said. “This opportunity gives us a chance to redefine who we are and experience life to an extent none of us thought possible.”

In preparation, they have worked tirelessly toward rehabilitation with sports therapists, exercise physiologists and several orthopedic doctors. They also completed a twelve-day mountaineering course with the Alaska Mountaineering School in July 2008.

On their blog, Matt Nyman writes, “I dream of climbing Denali. My whole life was the outdoors before my injury. My goal was to climb Mt. Rainier and this happened before I could do it. I wanted to follow it with Denali. … My whole life I’ve hiked, camped, skied, and just about everything else you can do. In 2005, I was on a little bird helicopter in Iraq when we crashed. I was tossed into the rotor. It cut off my right leg below the knee, cut and crushed my left foot, compound femur fracture, and collapsed lungs. All I have done is dreamed about climbing a big mountain and since I got hurt, it just made me want to do it even more to prove to myself I can overcome anything. I will do whatever it takes to do this expedition.”

They are still a long ways from raising enough money to make this adventure happen and you can send them donations through their site.

An exciting adventure we will be sure to follow via their blog and website.

Photos Courtesy of Marc Hoffmeister