Utah soldier makes Himalayan climb with other disabled vets

SALT LAKE CITY — An Iraq war veteran from Utah completed an epic climb in the Himalayas this week with a team of 10 other disabled U.S. combat vets.

The 20,075-foot peak near Mount Everest would

challenge any mountain climber, but these warriors scaled the mountain in spite of war wounds.

"Standing on the summit of Lobuche was truly remarkable," said Chad Jukes of Salt Lake City, during an interview via satellite phone from Nepal.

World T.E.A.M. Sports organized "Soldiers to the Summit" to show that people with disabilities can overcome extraordinary challenges. Each of the combat vets was injured in Iraq or Afghanistan suffering from loss of sight, loss of limbs, traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses," says Jukes. "It's really fun to see people helping each other through it and helping each other figure out what can be done differently to make this happen as a team."

Eleven American vets with disabilities hiked and then climbed into the thin air of the Himalayas this week. Jukes was among eight that summited Nepal's Lobuche Mountain (pronounced LOW-buh-shay). It took six hours up, five hours down on their final push from the highest base camp.

"Me standing on top of the mountain, that's one thing," says Jukes. "But standing on top of the mountain surrounded by great company, that's what really made it."

Lobuche East is 8.7 miles from Mount Everest. Erik Weihenmayer, who is celebrating the 10th anniversary of becoming the only blind person to ever summit Mount Everest, and many of the same team of climbers who helped Weihenmayer a decade ago assisted the soldiers.

The team trekked for seven days through the Khumbu region and then up the steep, 50-degree, snow- and ice-covered south ridge of the mountain to get to the advanced base camp at 18,305 feet. The soldiers climbed the final 1,800 feet up the craggy east side of the mountain Wednesday. Three in the party were unable to make it to the top.

Jukes spent the entire two-week expedition in awe of the beauty, the Sherpa culture and his fellow warriors.

"I've been remarkably honored to come out here and to be able to climb a very respectable mountain with a group of amazing people," he says.

The Logan native joined the Army after he graduated from Skyview High School. Jukes served in Afghanistan and later volunteered for duty in Iraq, where he lost his right leg below the knee in 2006.