WEBVTT

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[Foreboding Music]

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We're putting them in situations when, which

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they've never been in. But what we're

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doing is asking them to not just be

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academically proficient but also

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technically and tactically proficient.

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So putting both of those things

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together, especially with, you know,

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tying 15 knots and having to learn them

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within the first six days of them being

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here is, is pretty difficult.

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Learning all the knot systems over roughly a

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five day period, extremely difficult,

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but we got through it. I have not done

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anything like this before. It's

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definitely been a challenge, but a

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challenge in one of the best ways.

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I think most people think that it's

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either in Colorado or at 10th Mountain

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Division in New York because of the

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name, right. But this school has

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been here for 40 years and we have

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every training site within two miles of

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or three miles from here. So, you

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know, we have cliffs, we have low

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elevation as far as altitude, I mean,

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low altitude. So there's no

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acclimatization needed. You're in Colorado,

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that might be an issue. Same thing

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with the Marine Corps school.

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They're at a what's considered a medium

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altitude so you have to acclimatize

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when you get there. Here you

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don't have to. Some would say that's

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an important part of mountaineering.

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But for a two week class it's, it's

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just more compact. Everything's right

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here. You know, one stop shop.

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It's very selective here, which is, I

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think a good thing. For the

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mountain warfare school to have that

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need to bring a specific skill set

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and a specific demeanor.

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Basically, your students lives are

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hanging not only in their own harnesses

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but also in your hands. So safety is a

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huge thing and having that

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attention detail for it is, is really

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important. Like it's unique and

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challenging that the, the terrain is

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always changing, the weather is

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changing, the students are changing.

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It's, I'm working with a different team of

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instructors from year to year. It's a

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constant struggle to try to manage risk

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while at the same time, like putting

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out the best possible product for the

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students and thinking about, you know,

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the best way to promote learning and

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that requires us to be pretty dynamic

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in our approach. I think it's

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that challenge is what really draws me

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in to, to working here.

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It's a very niche community. and I get,

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I mean, I hate to say it, but I get

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paid to do this. I get paid to rock

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climb. I get, you know, paid to work

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with students. I get paid to use my,

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you know, lifetime of experience to

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put that towards the students.

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I also get to do it with some of the best

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in the world. So it's really cool to

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like, be here and do that. You know,

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we, we trust each other, we respect

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each other, we work together and play

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together and fight with each other and,

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you know, we, we listen to each other

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and it's, I think that's a rarity and,

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you know, in or outside of the

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military to, to have that kind of

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situation for most people.