Leave it to former Navy SEALs to decide that the best way to get their lives back on track following a series of health crises is to scale Africa’s highest peak: Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Twenty-six year old Will Cannon, of Houston, Texas, is one such climber. Cannon was a sergeant in the Army serving in Afghanistan when he lost his right leg (and his best friend) in an explosion. Unfortunately, his bad luck didn’t end there. After leaving the Army, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and underwent radiation.
During the cancer treatments, Cannon’s spirits sank. But now that he’s in remission, he’s hoping to rejuvenate himself and others by joining a team of wounded veterans who plan to scale Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Cannon will be on hand to help two Navy SEALs who lost both of their legs in service — Bo Reichenbach and Dan Cnossen — complete the difficult ascent. (Cnossen, a Topeka, Kansas native, recently competed at the Paralympics in Sochi, Russia in Nordic skiing.)
Cannon told Roberta MacGinnis of the Houston Chronicle that it’s especially difficult for a Navy SEAL to cope with physical disability. “We are, in our minds, 10 feet tall and bullet proof. We are men. So whenever one of us gets hurt — loses his legs for instance — and we come home, you know, and what do we do? What are we supposed to do? At one point I was leading men into battle, and now I can’t even walk.”
The mountain climbing expedition is part of the Phoenix Patriot Foundation’s mission to bring together small groups of veterans to foster the military bond they miss when their service is over. Jared Ogden, a former Navy SEAL, founded the nonprofit and asked Cannon to join the expedition. The foundation has raised over $15,000 toward its goal of $50,000 to fund the expedition.
Reichenbach and Cnossen will use robotic prosthetics during the week-long climb, which is scheduled for this summer. Reichenbach told MacGinnis, “I’m proving to myself that I’m still capable of doing things that most people can’t do, even though I’m missing both legs from above my knees.”
Which just goes to show that even after injury, Navy SEALS are tougher than most of us will ever be.
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Tag: Mountain Climbing
These Blind Vets Train to Climb North America’s Highest Mountain
Scaling mountains can invigorate the spirit. But is the same true if you can’t see the view from the peaks you’re climbing?
Two inspiring climbers training to summit Alaska’s Denali are demonstrating that sight is not a barrier when it comes to mountain climbing.
During their service with the Army in Iraq, Scott Smiley lost his vision to a car bomb and a grenade blinded Marty Bailey. In March, the two met with climbing guide Eric Alexander in Summit County, Colorado, where they climbed Quandary and Lincoln peaks to train at high altitude and mentally prepare for their planned May ascent of Denali, North America’s highest peak. If they succeed, they will become the first blind people to conquer its challenging West Rib.
Alexander is a capable guide for the vets: He’s summited mountains across the world, and guided his friend Erik Weihenmayer toward becoming the first blind person to summit Mt. Everest in 2001.
Smiley, who continued his military service after his injury as a teacher at West Point and Gonzaga, told Melanie Wong of Vail Daily that he can still perceive the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. “I still think it’s one of the most beautiful things,” he said. “The air is fresh, pure and clean. I live in Spokane, Washington, and you don’t get those senses hitting you all the time. There’s the beauty of seeing things, but those pictures go to my mind and it puts a smile on my face.”
It will take practice and courage for the vets to learn how to find steady footing with their ice-climbing crampons and to keep their ice axes and ropes from tangling as they climb. Bailey and Smiley are chronicling their journey and accepting donations to help with training costs on their website Blind Strength. “This climb is drawing awareness,” Smiley said. “It’s about doing things that I enjoy and being an example on others not to give up on life and push through hard times.”
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