Re: Final Denali '09 Email

Hey all-  I just wanted to send a big THANK YOU for keeping up with the Denali climb e-mails and sending me your well wishes.  I certainly wish all of you could have joined me on this climb, but alas, many of you have your hands full with other exciting things (like new babies and/or jobs!).  The good news is that I will one day be returning to Denali for what will hopefully be an uninterrupted climb of the mountain.  That means I'll be looking for some good friends to join me!!  It was disappointing coming off the mountain early, but at least there is always an upside to it.  It is a truly amazing part of the world and I think you'd all enjoy it.  Who knows when I will return- hopefully in the next two years or so (depending on other climbs in Asia, Antarctica, Australia, or back to S. America).  I'll make sure to let you know!

 

Pictures of the climb can be found at: www.flickr.com/photos/sundownr01/sets

 

Also, thanks to those of you that were able to make a donation to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.  This climb raised almost $2000 for the SOWF, which is great considering my last second attempt to generate interest!

 

I'm still in Vegas, waiting for the chance to fly back to Florida.  For those of you that aren't in Florida (almost all of you...), I hope to get the chance to visit you over the next month or later in the year as winter approaches since I miss hanging out!  Until then, I wish you all the best of luck and health.  Congratulations to all the new moms & dads out there!!  Take care and keep in touch...

 

Love and High Fives- Rob

On Wed, Jun 10, 2009 at 7:28 AM, Mark Uberuaga <markuberuaga@hotmail.com> wrote:

A final note from Lara:
 
Hello Everyone,
  
      This will be the last time you will open you inbox and see my Denali '09 emails, just waiting to be opened. A sad moment, i know but I hope there will be more emails to comprise and more memories to share with you all.
 
Let's do a quick recap, shall we?
     June 4th: After a long a tedious day of walking in the Kahiltna glacier the group finally arrived at Base Camp at 10:30 PM. Dehydrated, hungry, wet and amazingly tired, the Team set up the tents under a misty veil of rain, then proceeded to melt some snow and a prepare (hardly) a healthy dinner consisting of cold tuna. The survivors of this long march went to bed, then they were tucked in bed by the strong and unforgiving harms of Morfeo.
     June 5th:  The team woke up to a foggy day with visibility no more than 100 to 200 feet, as expected, no planes will be landing today. Everybody spent the day in a semi-lethargy state of laziness. The highlight of the day was breakfast of turkey burgers cooked by Karim, yes you read correctly, Karim was cooking. I wonder if maybe this will inspire him to cook more meals when he gets home!... Not likely. During the rest of the day however, there were no change on the weather. So unfortunately to our climbers they would have to spend another day on the nonamusing base camp.
     June 6th: Our team awoke to sunny skies and in record time everything was packed and ready to go. The first flight took Karim, Tim, John and Andrew, while Dan followed 45 min later in the last flight. by noon the team was in Talkeetna sorting and drying all the gear in the backyard of the hostel. Then the team spent the rest of the day taking much needed showers, eating burgers, calling families, eating ice cream, checking out whit the park services, eating pizza, and etc.
     June 7th: The team woke up from a deep and renewing sleep, and took care of the first necessity of they day...eating breakfast (of course), after that they finished to packing and were picked up by the shuttle van that would take them to Anchorage. They made a stop in Wasilla, Alaska and met Ralph and his wife Susan, then continued directly to the airport to drop off Dan for his flight home, finally arriving at Anchorage's hostel where they will stay until their time of departure comes.
 
      Basically everybody is packed and counting the hours for their respective flights.
 
I need to be honest and tell you that what I know about Tom Mahoilc and Tom Valentine is what my father has told us at home, so I asked Art and Will to send me some information about them. What they send me is very special and I want to share it with all of you. 
 
"Thom Maholic! He was my best friend and could always count on him. I miss him every day and have no doubt that he would have been on that mountain as well carrying someone else's memory...
 
Thom Maholic was killed on 26 June 2006 in the Kadahar Providence of Afghanistan. He had risen to the rank of Master Sergeant and was the Team Sergeant for ODA 765, an elite Special Forces "Scuba Team" of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) when he was Killed In Action. Thom was so well liked in the Special Operations Community, the Firebase he had been operating out of at the time of his death was called Firebase Ghecko. It is now named Firebase Maholic.
 
Thom was an athlete by all means with a very competitive spirit but usually not with others but more competitive with himself. He liked to find "his limits" and push them a little further. Thom enjoyed climbing a small mountain within the Firebase Ghecko area. One day, it was discussed that the next morning, the entire team ODA 765 would climb up it together. To attempt to get one up on Thom, one of the team members decided to get up a little earlier and get climbing it solo before everyone else did it together. To his surprise, half way up, he was met by Thom, who was already on his way back down!!! He was awesome!
 
Thom was born in Bradford, PA in 1 February 1968. He was the son of the late William Maholic and Dorothy Maholic who survives and lives the spring and summer times in Bradford, PA and winters in Texas. She is a super woman and is very proud of all her children, especially of Thom and his achievements as a young man. 
On December 27, 1993 in Bradford, PA, Thom married his high school sweatheart, Wendy. They lived together on Ft. Bragg along with their son, Andrew Gregory, who was born on 3 April 1996. Andrew is quite the athlete like his father and has recently taken a liking to any kind of hockey! (Karim and I are planning to take Andrew up to summit Mt. Rainier, which Thom did in 2001, so he can see what his father has seen from on high!)
 
Thom graduated Bradford Area High School in the class of 1986. He enlisted in the National Guard after high school and attended Basic combat training and advanced Individual training at Ft. Benning, GA. He later went on to active duty, serving in Panama. He attended the Special Forces Medical Sergeants course in 1993 and spent the remainder of his time in the Special Forces. Thom had graduated from Special Forces Scuba School, Airborne Jump Master's course, the Special Forces Search, Escape, Resist and Evade (SERE) course amongst other courses and certifications. He was an excellent person. A great Husband, father, son, brother and friend. He is deeply missed and very much remembered."    
                                                                                    -Art
                              
 
"Tommy V or "Val" for short was a Man full of life. He had a wife and two young children when he gave his life in a Parachute training accident in Yuma Az last year. He had just returned from his 3nd tour in OIF and had 5 previous tours in OEF. Needless to say he was a seasoned Combat Vet as a Senior Chief Petty Officer/ E-8. He had over 18 years of service in the Seal Teams. He was awarded the Silver star and 3 Bronze stars with Combat V for his actions in Combat thru the years. Many of the actions he was involved in where national headlines. He always had smile and something positive to say. He was a long time Skier and Mountaineer. He summit ed Denali in 2006 with other members of his Team. He was a great man and a true hero. Proud to call him a friend. He is with boys on the climb in spirit for sure."
                                                                      -Will
 
Thank you both for your words. It really and truly means a lot to me to be able to share just a little of the lives with everyone reading these emails.
 
 
Also... For those of you who are interested in knowing a little about the writer behind these emails, I would hate to leave you wondering who i am. So without further ado....
     My name is Lara Mella-Jansen and I have just been promoted to the 11th grade. The thrill that i receive from writing and expressing my own sense of inspiration through words, is what sometimes i do the least. I love reading the classics or pretty much any type of literature. I have yet to know what I would like to study and pursue for the rest of my life... but i am sure i will eventually find it. My favorite hobby is Tennis, it has been the only sport that i ever kept with, between Karate, Ballet, Volleyball, Track and even Triathlons (sorry dad), the only thing that i find totally stress ending is Tennis. I sadly have no brothers and sisters, but i don't mind it much... I really couldn't imagine having to share my amazing parents with anyone else. I am also the biggest animal lover you will ever meet :) I am actually terrible at writing about myself but I hope it wasn't too disappointing.
 
 
One thing though, is that i would like to Thank everyone who has helped me along with this experience and I hope you guys have enjoyed reading these emails. I would also like to Thank the team for all your bravery and all you willingness at making a difference, it has shown me that it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you do it with all your heart and a little bit of courage, then anything I do can be something great. Thank you again. :)
 
 
                                  "As he was drawing near—already on the way
                                  down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude
                                  of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God
                                  with a loud voice for all the mighty works that
                                  they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King
                                  who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in
                                  heaven and glory in the highest!'"
                                                 -Luke 19:37-38 
 
 
                                                                                        -Lara<3
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

---

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Final Denali '09 Email

A final note from Lara:
 
Hello Everyone,
  
      This will be the last time you will open you inbox and see my Denali '09 emails, just waiting to be opened. A sad moment, i know but I hope there will be more emails to comprise and more memories to share with you all.
 
Let's do a quick recap, shall we?
     June 4th: After a long a tedious day of walking in the Kahiltna glacier the group finally arrived at Base Camp at 10:30 PM. Dehydrated, hungry, wet and amazingly tired, the Team set up the tents under a misty veil of rain, then proceeded to melt some snow and a prepare (hardly) a healthy dinner consisting of cold tuna. The survivors of this long march went to bed, then they were tucked in bed by the strong and unforgiving harms of Morfeo.
     June 5th:  The team woke up to a foggy day with visibility no more than 100 to 200 feet, as expected, no planes will be landing today. Everybody spent the day in a semi-lethargy state of laziness. The highlight of the day was breakfast of turkey burgers cooked by Karim, yes you read correctly, Karim was cooking. I wonder if maybe this will inspire him to cook more meals when he gets home!... Not likely. During the rest of the day however, there were no change on the weather. So unfortunately to our climbers they would have to spend another day on the nonamusing base camp.
     June 6th: Our team awoke to sunny skies and in record time everything was packed and ready to go. The first flight took Karim, Tim, John and Andrew, while Dan followed 45 min later in the last flight. by noon the team was in Talkeetna sorting and drying all the gear in the backyard of the hostel. Then the team spent the rest of the day taking much needed showers, eating burgers, calling families, eating ice cream, checking out whit the park services, eating pizza, and etc.
     June 7th: The team woke up from a deep and renewing sleep, and took care of the first necessity of they day...eating breakfast (of course), after that they finished to packing and were picked up by the shuttle van that would take them to Anchorage. They made a stop in Wasilla, Alaska and met Ralph and his wife Susan, then continued directly to the airport to drop off Dan for his flight home, finally arriving at Anchorage's hostel where they will stay until their time of departure comes.
 
      Basically everybody is packed and counting the hours for their respective flights.
 
I need to be honest and tell you that what I know about Tom Mahoilc and Tom Valentine is what my father has told us at home, so I asked Art and Will to send me some information about them. What they send me is very special and I want to share it with all of you. 
 
"Thom Maholic! He was my best friend and could always count on him. I miss him every day and have no doubt that he would have been on that mountain as well carrying someone else's memory...
 
Thom Maholic was killed on 26 June 2006 in the Kadahar Providence of Afghanistan. He had risen to the rank of Master Sergeant and was the Team Sergeant for ODA 765, an elite Special Forces "Scuba Team" of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) when he was Killed In Action. Thom was so well liked in the Special Operations Community, the Firebase he had been operating out of at the time of his death was called Firebase Ghecko. It is now named Firebase Maholic.
 
Thom was an athlete by all means with a very competitive spirit but usually not with others but more competitive with himself. He liked to find "his limits" and push them a little further. Thom enjoyed climbing a small mountain within the Firebase Ghecko area. One day, it was discussed that the next morning, the entire team ODA 765 would climb up it together. To attempt to get one up on Thom, one of the team members decided to get up a little earlier and get climbing it solo before everyone else did it together. To his surprise, half way up, he was met by Thom, who was already on his way back down!!! He was awesome!
 
Thom was born in Bradford, PA in 1 February 1968. He was the son of the late William Maholic and Dorothy Maholic who survives and lives the spring and summer times in Bradford, PA and winters in Texas. She is a super woman and is very proud of all her children, especially of Thom and his achievements as a young man. 
On December 27, 1993 in Bradford, PA, Thom married his high school sweatheart, Wendy. They lived together on Ft. Bragg along with their son, Andrew Gregory, who was born on 3 April 1996. Andrew is quite the athlete like his father and has recently taken a liking to any kind of hockey! (Karim and I are planning to take Andrew up to summit Mt. Rainier, which Thom did in 2001, so he can see what his father has seen from on high!)
 
Thom graduated Bradford Area High School in the class of 1986. He enlisted in the National Guard after high school and attended Basic combat training and advanced Individual training at Ft. Benning, GA. He later went on to active duty, serving in Panama. He attended the Special Forces Medical Sergeants course in 1993 and spent the remainder of his time in the Special Forces. Thom had graduated from Special Forces Scuba School, Airborne Jump Master's course, the Special Forces Search, Escape, Resist and Evade (SERE) course amongst other courses and certifications. He was an excellent person. A great Husband, father, son, brother and friend. He is deeply missed and very much remembered."    
                                                                                    -Art
                              
 
"Tommy V or "Val" for short was a Man full of life. He had a wife and two young children when he gave his life in a Parachute training accident in Yuma Az last year. He had just returned from his 3nd tour in OIF and had 5 previous tours in OEF. Needless to say he was a seasoned Combat Vet as a Senior Chief Petty Officer/ E-8. He had over 18 years of service in the Seal Teams. He was awarded the Silver star and 3 Bronze stars with Combat V for his actions in Combat thru the years. Many of the actions he was involved in where national headlines. He always had smile and something positive to say. He was a long time Skier and Mountaineer. He summit ed Denali in 2006 with other members of his Team. He was a great man and a true hero. Proud to call him a friend. He is with boys on the climb in spirit for sure."
                                                                      -Will
 
Thank you both for your words. It really and truly means a lot to me to be able to share just a little of the lives with everyone reading these emails.
 
 
Also... For those of you who are interested in knowing a little about the writer behind these emails, I would hate to leave you wondering who i am. So without further ado....
     My name is Lara Mella-Jansen and I have just been promoted to the 11th grade. The thrill that i receive from writing and expressing my own sense of inspiration through words, is what sometimes i do the least. I love reading the classics or pretty much any type of literature. I have yet to know what I would like to study and pursue for the rest of my life... but i am sure i will eventually find it. My favorite hobby is Tennis, it has been the only sport that i ever kept with, between Karate, Ballet, Volleyball, Track and even Triathlons (sorry dad), the only thing that i find totally stress ending is Tennis. I sadly have no brothers and sisters, but i don't mind it much... I really couldn't imagine having to share my amazing parents with anyone else. I am also the biggest animal lover you will ever meet :) I am actually terrible at writing about myself but I hope it wasn't too disappointing.
 
 
One thing though, is that i would like to Thank everyone who has helped me along with this experience and I hope you guys have enjoyed reading these emails. I would also like to Thank the team for all your bravery and all you willingness at making a difference, it has shown me that it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you do it with all your heart and a little bit of courage, then anything I do can be something great. Thank you again. :)
 
 
                                  "As he was drawing near—already on the way
                                  down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude
                                  of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God
                                  with a loud voice for all the mighty works that
                                  they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King
                                  who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in
                                  heaven and glory in the highest!'"
                                                 -Luke 19:37-38 
 
 
                                                                                        -Lara<3
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

---

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Summit!

Great news from Lara:

This is it! Our team has summited Denali successfully! Congratulations One Voice One Call, you have finally reached your goal!
 
June 4, 2009 Thursday
 I received a call from my father today informing me of their very happy news. Only three of our team were able to summit though, (out of the original 6) they were: Karim, Tim, and Andrew. Dan stayed at camp 17000 with symptoms of dehydration. With the Lord's protection, yesterday at 7:20 pm they summited Mt. Denali. Even though they were only 3 physically, the team felt the presence of two more souls at that mountain top. Thomas Maholic and Thomas Valentine were present in the hearts and memories of their friends. This is where our team realized that our greatest heroes will always live on, through their actions, words, and their remembrance. Not only has the group reached their goal of summiting to the top, but they have also fulfilled their call. Looking out at the Mountain range surrounding them, the team took pictures of the majestically, icy landscape and smiled at each other. The unrealistic beauty of the blue-white snow peaks seemed to smile back too.  Pulling themselves away from the image of staying on that summit forever, they packed up their cameras and pictures and started to descend back down to their camp. On their way down they met up with the Dutch group that they had previously met at camp 14000 during the storm. Many congratulations and touching words were passed, then the two groups went their own way, our team back to camp 17000, while the Dutch group went up to the summit and to experience the same emotions our team went through just before. Then our team arrived at camp 17000 (where Dan is) at 10:40 pm, they rested, packed up their equipment, and plan to then descend back to 14000 where John is. Finally each of the men will make their way down to base camp and be on their way home, each following  their own paths back to civilization. 
 

RE: Rob is Off the Mountain - Team goes for the Summit

I spoke to Rob last night and again this morning.  He arrived at Talkeetna a day ahead of his flight out of Anchorage.  With a guide, he went fly-fishing.  He said the water was high and cloudy from recent runoffs, but he still managed to land some nice-sized fish.  Yesterday evening he caught the train for a three-hour trip to Anchorage, and spent most of the time in an observation car where he met a young doctor with whom he ate dinner once in Anchorage.  He caught the red-eye from ANC to Houston, which stopped briefly in Seattle.  He expects to be home in Destin this afternoon.
   Dad Mark


-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Uberuaga [mailto:markuberuaga@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thu 6/4/2009 3:33 AM
To: usaf7summits blog; Marshall, Mark; cmarshallrd@mindspring.com; jetsetvet@hotmail.com; scrapadoo11@hotmail.com; abarr@ucdavis.edu; Sam Glaser; Marcel Bieg; mark.rockefeller@gmail.com; demgm79@gmail.com; helmscp@gmail.com; ferrellje@hotmail.com; courtball@earthlink.net; paqit@hotmail.com; taryn_mcdonald@hotmail.com; rmckinney@bankandoffice.com; Rob Marshall
Subject: Rob is Off the Mountain - Team goes for the Summit


Thursday, June 4:



Rob called yesterday from Talkeetna to let me know he'd made it back off of the mountain safely.  We didn't get to talk about the trip much, but he sounded like he was in high spirits. 



Below is an update from Lara regarding the rest of the team: 


Hello Everyone,

I Just wanted you all to know that the day that we have been waiting for has finally come! Today our men are attempting to summit the mighty Mt. Denali!

 June 3, 2009  Wednesday
Today i got a quick message from my father updating me about the previous days. On Monday the Team stayed at Camp 14000 because the weather was still bad. It snowed a lot and was sad to see how Rob said goodbye to the mountain. He left to base camp and is hoping to arrive at Anchorage sometime this week. Good luck Rob and we hope you make a safe and successful descent! Tuesday was the day that our team again packed up all their equipment and moved to camp 17000, John however, had to descent along with Rob. The blisters on his feet got so bad that he couldn't climb the challenging Walking Ridge. It is said that the Ridge is very hazardous, thanks to the high winds and unsteady pathway, also climbers have the feeling of being blown off the mountain (literally!). The group arrived at Camp 17000 at 7 pm after a long and aggressive trek. They quickly made igloos of snow and ice, heated up a quick meal, and rested their tired bodies into a peaceful and deep sleep. Today they woke up excited to actually be thinking in their heads "Today we will reach the top!... Finally!" When my dad left me the message he said that they would be leaving at around 12 pm or 1:00 pm. I will hopefully receive a call tonight informing me of their success and I will send out an email either tonight, or if it's too late, tomorrow! Let's keep them in our thoughts tonight and pray the weather doesn't interfere.

 

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Rob is Off the Mountain - Team goes for the Summit

Thursday, June 4:
 
Rob called yesterday from Talkeetna to let me know he'd made it back off of the mountain safely.  We didn't get to talk about the trip much, but he sounded like he was in high spirits. 
 
Below is an update from Lara regarding the rest of the team:  
 
Hello Everyone,
 
I Just wanted you all to know that the day that we have been waiting for has finally come! Today our men are attempting to summit the mighty Mt. Denali!
 
June 3, 2009  Wednesday
Today i got a quick message from my father updating me about the previous days. On Monday the Team stayed at Camp 14000 because the weather was still bad. It snowed a lot and was sad to see how Rob said goodbye to the mountain. He left to base camp and is hoping to arrive at Anchorage sometime this week. Good luck Rob and we hope you make a safe and successful descent! Tuesday was the day that our team again packed up all their equipment and moved to camp 17000, John however, had to descent along with Rob. The blisters on his feet got so bad that he couldn't climb the challenging Walking Ridge. It is said that the Ridge is very hazardous, thanks to the high winds and unsteady pathway, also climbers have the feeling of being blown off the mountain (literally!). The group arrived at Camp 17000 at 7 pm after a long and aggressive trek. They quickly made igloos of snow and ice, heated up a quick meal, and rested their tired bodies into a peaceful and deep sleep. Today they woke up excited to actually be thinking in their heads "Today we will reach the top!... Finally!" When my dad left me the message he said that they would be leaving at around 12 pm or 1:00 pm. I will hopefully receive a call tonight informing me of their success and I will send out an email either tonight, or if it's too late, tomorrow! Let's keep them in our thoughts tonight and pray the weather doesn't interfere.
 
 

FW: Denali '09

 
Here is the latest update form Lara.  I haven't heard from Rob yet, but I'll update you all as soon as I do.
 
       May 31, 2009  Sunday
Congratulations to our team!! They did the half carry to camp 17000 and it was very successful. Once in Camp 17000 they unloaded the food and equipment and cashed out the food (meaning digging a hole and stuffing everything in there). It was a hard climb because it was the first time they had crossed the headwall. The highest obstacle on the mountain. The team needed to climb with ropes and that was also the most technical part. The wind was high and the temperature was extremely cold! Then the group returned back to camp 14000 to wait for the storm to pass. On saturday they awoke to high winds in the high camp so they just stayed put. The highlight of the day was when John honored and carried out the ceremony of Tim's promotion. This was done in Camp 14000 in Denali, Alaska. The team has been amusing themselves by joking around with Tim. Finding out the biggest honor of your career by Pinkkitty1214... but hey I think that's an honor in itself! Just kidding, Congratulations to Tim! The ceremony was very nice and unique, Tim was holding a flag in 50mph winds, everyone was in bright yellow and orange snow suits, and don't forget the beards. The weather on the other hand is not being very nice, the storm is said to continue on it's very unwelcome trek for 4 to 5 days more. The team is waiting for a break to climb up to camp 17000 and then prepare for a break in the weather to summit. Rob however will be descending to Base camp tomorrow. His time has run out and all the planes are stopped, so no planes into the Glacier and zero coming out. Let's wish Rob a safe return. I wish everyone a blessed week!