8/31/2010
By TIM UNRUH Salina Journal

Those hiking and skiing vacations Aaron Isaacson took with his family as a boy come back to the soldier as he trains for a huge challenge this fall.

Isaacson, 32, a former Concordia resident who is a captain in the Kansas National Guard, is among 14 injured soldiers gearing for an ascent on Mount Lobuche, a 20,075-foot peak 8.7 miles from Mount Everest in Nepal.

Their Soldiers to the Summit expedition Oct. 2 to 21 will be documented by a television crew.

"It's always been a personal goal, since I was a child, to summit a mountain in Nepal," Isaacson said.

A 1995 graduate of Hugoton High School in southwest Kansas, Isaacson is the middle of John and Robin Isaacson's three children. His parents own and operate Heavy's Barbecue in Concordia.

Isaacson, of Topeka, is a veteran of three combat tours -- two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

He lost the hearing in his left ear and suffered minor head and neck injuries in Iraq during 2005 when a vehicle detonated a land mine as he walked nearby. He was awarded a Purple Heart.

During a tour in Afghanistan in 2008, Isaacson fell off a cliff and broke his right leg during a combat operation along the Pakistani border. The injury occurred while he was embedded with the Afghan Army.

Fighting for freedoms

The climbing expedition is organized by World TEAM Sports, a nonprofit organization that shows what can be achieved by disabled athletes. Isaacson said he's eager to make the climb to send a message.

"The other part is to be able to remind people that in their everyday lives, that soldiers are over there fighting and dying for our freedom, and for everybody to remember them," he said.

Three months ago, when offered the chance to climb Mount Lobuche, Isaacson said he immediately accepted. He and other team members have been training with the Outward Bound organization in Colorado.

"There are a lot of professional mountaineers out there, and Outward Bound employs them to help teams with trips like ours," he said.

A number of the pro climbers planning to join the expedition have conquered Mount Everest.

"We're learning a lot from them," Isaacson said.

The hike begins at an airstrip in Lukla, Nepal. The group will hike seven days through the Khumbu region before reaching their advance base camp at 18,212 feet above sea level.

In addition to the documentary film crew covering the training and the climb, he said, Outside magazine is sending a reporter, and other media have gotten involved.

Information about the team and the expedition can be found at http://soldierstothesummit.org.

'I have my legs'

The expedition is different than most. Recovered from leg surgery, Isaacson is perhaps better situated for the rigors of climbing than many of his comrades. Three men are missing legs and two are blind.

"I'm lucky because I have my legs," Isaacson said. "I'm ready to help them with their issues on the climb."

He is assigned to help one of the blind soldiers.

"We'll be roped together, and I'll have a bell to ring," Isaacson said. "I'll be telling him whether to adjust his steps left or right."

Of the 24 making the climb, 14 are soldiers. Two of those are women.

Now a legislative liaison for Kansas Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting in Topeka, Isaacson has volunteered to deploy back to the Middle East next year.

"To be honest, I love serving over there. I've got a good group of friends," Isaacson said. "I'd rather go where I was needed."

n Reporter Tim Unruh can be reached at 822-1419 or by e-mail at tunruh@salina.com.

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