Disabled veterans attempt climb up Mt. McKinley

18 photos, 1 Video

Army Sgt. Kirk Bauer lost most of his left leg in a firefight in Vietnam, but that hasn’t stopped him from tackling some the world’s greatest challenges with Disabled Sports USA – Warfighter Sports. He’s been with the organization for 42 years, and is now its executive director. Their goal is to help wounded veterans returning from war realize that they can still achieve great feats.

In June 2012, Bauer led four Iraq and Afghanistan veterans — two double-leg amputees, one single-leg amputee and one with muscle damage – up North America’s tallest mountain, Mt. McKinley in Alaska.

Their tagline: Five wounded warriors, four good legs, three wars, two generations, one mountain.

Disabled Sports USA – Warfighter Sports gave us some of the photos and video clips from the climb for a story Catonsville Times reporter Brian Conlin wrote this week about Kirk Bauer.

I interviewed Kirk Bauer on camera this week, and wove his interview with footage shot on the mountain during the climb. The team brought a GoPro HD camera to document their journey.

Click to view video, or watch the extended cut below.

Disabled veterans attempt climb up Mt. McKinley from The Darkroom on Vimeo.