Army Bob: Seven Summits climber deserves a salute

by Robert M. Traxler

An article in Stars and Stripes 2 April reported “(Kirstie (first name not in quote) Ennis followed her parents’ footsteps — both Marines — and enlisted at 17 years old. Four years later in Afghanistan, while on a mission as a helicopter gunner to pick up Marines in an active combat zone, Sergeant Ennis’ helicopter crashed without warning. She suffered damage to her jaw and enough to her left leg to need an amputation, first below her knee then later above the knee.”

“Thursday, Ennis drove from her home in Aspen, Colorado, to fly to Los Angeles. Saturday, her flight left for Nepal where she and her team will meet up with seven Sherpas — Tibetans who also serve as Mount Everest guides — and from base camp it’s off for a six- to eight-week trek to the mountain’s summit and back.”

You will find few people who have lived in Alaska for years and have not given mountain climbing a try. Even as a young infantry officer (before switching to the Military Police), I did, and though I was in excellent shape it kicked my butt.

We have all walked in deep snow and know how hard it is. Pair that with extreme cold/wind, very thin air (low in oxygen content) and carrying a heavy pack on a steep slope, and you have an idea how difficult it is. Climbing even a lesser mountain some 10,000 feet (one third the height of Everest) in the Chugach Range was something I did once and checked that block, never to try it again.

I have run 19 marathons, even trail marathons, but they were a walk in the park by comparison. Mountain climbers have my respect, all mountain climbers, but one with a prosthetic leg is in a special category.

To quote John Marsden, “time spent in reconnaissance is never wasted.” Two years ago, Ennis visited Mt. Everest base camp to collect intelligence for her trip. She said she’s been training for more than three years since her thousand-mile trek throughout England, Scotland and Wales as part of Walking with the Wounded in 2015. On that trip, she befriended Royal Marine Prince Harry, who joined her group along the way.

Since then she decided to attempt to scale the Seven Summits — the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. Seven summits, seven mountains, seven climbs; one was enough for a younger me, but seven? If I ever meet this Marine, I would salute her out of deep respect.

The loss of a limb, especially above the joint, is difficult to deal with. The recovery is long and arduous; the psychological impact causes many to sit in the dark and cry about how unfair life is. They become victims and work hard to develop a list of what they cannot do.

Kirstie is an outstanding example of a person who was handed a lemon by life, so she made lemonade.

Her goals don’t end with Mount Everest; she has proven she will accomplish her mission. By the end of 2021, she hopes to have completed the Seven Summits, swim the English Channel, run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days, and bike the Great Divide Ride (3,084-mile off-road cycling tour). One hell of a Marine and a credit to the Corps, her nation, her family and an example of how to adapt and overcome adversity.

Kirstie will not be the first amputee to climb Mt. Everest, not even the first female amputee. Who cares? She is a hell of a person, and even with the loss of a leg, a stronger person than me. She is a shining light for all to follow, and for folks who are handed a lemon by life to see they can make lemonade, adapt and overcome.