Photo By Maj. David Mattox | Maj. Gary McDonald, commandant of the U.S. Army’s Northern Warfare Training Center,...... read more read more
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FORT WAINWRIGHT, Utah — The Kanab, Utah, native said when he decided to join the Army he wanted to join the infantry, but his wife of now 18 years, didn’t care too much for that idea and wanted him in a job she thought was more “safe,” so he became an armor officer.
McDonald grew up on a small ranch in Utah at an elevation of 8,800 feet. He said he spent a lot of his youth enjoying the outdoors, spending time in the mountains, skiing and snowmobiling. So, when a superior officer told him about the NWTC, what they did and had to offer, he was hooked.
After attending the Basic Mountaineering Course one summer, he said he decided the NWTC was where he wanted to be, and with either luck or fate, it became so.
“It was a good unit and the NCOs were extremely professional and knowledgeable.” McDonald said.
The training at the NWTC fit his lifestyle.
He said he enjoys just about anything outdoors – trekking, backpacking, climbing and hunting – just to name a few.
One memorable hunting trip involved his first sergeant at the NWTC.
“That was an event – getting it out,” McDonald said. “The quickest way to ruin a good moose hunt is to kill a moose,” he joked. “We had to go back and get the [snow] machines but still had to haul [the moose] out a mile, me with my 9- and 11-year-olds and first sergeant’s 11-year-old, at 1 a.m., just to get to them.”
McDonald’s adventures are far from over. He and a team of five instructors from the NWTC will be attempting to summit the tallest mountain in Northern America this month.
With a peak at 20,000 feet above sea level, Mount McKinley is at least two times higher than any mountain McDonald and most of his team have ever attempted.
Like most of the team members, McDonald said he wanted to do this for the challenge.
Each team member will be carrying in about 150 pounds of equipment for their climb.
Some of the gear will be on sleds and the rest will be on their backs, according to McDonald. He said they have been training up for this by completing extra hiking, climbing and using an altitude chamber.
McDonald said they experienced what it would be like at 25,000 feet, which is higher than their upcoming summit, just to get a feel for it.
| Date Taken: | 04.30.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 09.06.2012 14:10 |
| Story ID: | 94318 |
| Location: | FORT WAINWRIGHT, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 129 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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