Mission Project

By Evan Serpa

So about a month into my fifth deployment to the middle east I decided, with some inspiration, to get into ultra running. I had planned on using the time I had here to get into shape for a 50k upon my return to North Carolina. After being extended an extra few months, I realized I would be in Iraq during the race I was training for. My friend who had run a few times with me gave me a great idea... instead of missing the race I could run my own 50k in Iraq. So despite the 120+ degree daytime temps I decided I would give it a shot. The run went much better than planned and after a few days of resting and forgeting how bad my legs hurt I decided to push it even further and sign up for a 100 miler upon my return home. I have even had the pleasure of running with some of the Iraqi guards out here on a few occasions (who are sherpa tough and will run in full gear no matter how hot!!).

PS: I love your wicked tees for hot day running.

View More of Lara's Photographs.

By Lara Bower

Antarctica. The most intense, frightening, and wild of all places. Looking back, it's hard to believe that I even went there, especially at only seventeen years of age. But I did. I sea kayaked my way around tiny islands in the Weddell Sea, playing with penguins and seals. I maneuvered the icebergs that littered the sea (in a good way), and encountered some of the roughest weather conditions that I will ever see. But, even when faced with incredible weather conditions, my Mountain Hardwear gear stood up to the challenge that is Antarctica.

When my family decided on a vacation spot for Christmas, of course Antarctica was the first place that came to my mind. But my dad, who gets seasick very easily, had other ideas. My mom and I lobbied for Antarctica, though, until it was a done deal. And we were off to Argentina (where our ship left the port) on December 18. The day before the expedition began, my family went on a trek near Usuaia, Argentina. Due to the extreme weather conditions in Ushuaia, it was important that I be very careful about my gear. I chose my Mountain Hardwear fleece, fleece lined hat, rain pants, and rain/wind shell to wear on the trek. As we hiked up steep mountains, with the wind blowing from all around, and stinging rain pelting us in the face, I must say that I was very fortunate to have all of this gear. The hat especially came in handy, due to the fact that most of the heat in our bodies leaves through the head. Even though the hike was fairly miserable, weather wise, it was still rewarding to see the crystal clear lake at the end of the trail, somewhere in Argentina. And I came out of my gear perfectly dry.

By Mike Brown

Each year I get together with a group of old friends for a "guys" weekend. It gives us an opportunity to catch up and talk about old times and it also gives us the chance to break away from our daily office routines and find a little adventure. We typically will work in a day or two of rock climbing and rappelling and then spend our last day trying doing something new like skydiving, whitewater kayaking, etc.

This year's gathering lead us into West Virginia for a day of rock climbing in the New River Gorge followed by a day of spelunking, or "caving" as it is called by the locals. Prior to the start of our caving adventure, our guide instructed us to dress for cool, damp conditions and to wear clothing that could stand up to the abrasion of the rocky surfaces that we would be crawling on during our tour. Following his advice, I put on an outer layer consisting of a reinforced nylon jacket (an expensive jacket from a different company) and a pair of lightweight Mountain Hardwear pants.

By Shannon Carter

Though my mission was not as tough as I have read about on your blog, it was an adventure for me just the same. It started back in March of this year planning my trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Of course it started with submitting my itinerary to the park service for their approval. I FedEx'ed my itinerary and was lucky enough to get all of my first choices on camp sites. We wouldn't want to make the park service mad, now would we? The trip started at 4:30 AM with the drive out to Colorado from North Carolina. After two days of hard driving I was finally in Grand Lake, CO. This is one little town that you must visit at least once in your life. The people there are just awesome. Oh yeah, stop by Grumpy's if you like cold beer and want to actually experience the locals. After a two day rest period, I hit the trail. I linked a couple of trails together to make a 32 mile loop. I started off on the North Inlet Trail and hiked to my first camp sight which was at North Inlet Falls. The trail there is not too hard and you do pass by some really nice scenery.

Now remember, I live at about 700 feet above sea level and the thinner air can sometimes make a simple walk hard. After arriving at my sight, I started to pitch my Mountain Hardwear Alcove 2 tent. During this process, I heard a rather large snap. I turned to see what it was, and it was one of the largest moose that I have ever seen. I use to live in Park City, UT and hiked nearly every week and I know what a large moose is. But anyway, he did not seem too concerned with me other than just being curious. In all of my excitement I could not locate my camera and missed a truly good photo opp. After pitching the tent, I went to get my water for the night's meal of dehydrated food. After eating I visited the waterfall where I stayed for a couple of hours. Then I retired to my Mountain Hardwer tent and crawled into my Mountain Hardwear Trekker sleeping bag. By the way, I had my Mountain Hardwear Nailhead pullover on while down at the waterfall.

By Christopher Stoehner

I am a man, that's it. Ordinary Joe from a desert in New Mexico. I have had one passion my entire life: to serve my country and be proud and honorable. In 2006 the United States military deemed me disabled from a war that I volunteered to fight in, I don't regret nor will I ever. However, since losing my grip on life I have had to find a new passion to pursue; one that intrigued me, kept me occupied and helped me to heal from the wounds I sustained in combat. That passion is climbing. Rock climbing, mountain climbing, tree climbing whatever climbing... it brings me a sense of accomplishment and pride. Ed Viesturs, like many, has inspired me to climb better everyday, and because of the way Mountain Hardwear treated Ed in his endeavor I have chosen Mountain Hardwear as my main source for gear. Every mountain trip I take a Piute, Trango 2, and at least my Chugach pants. When at home I proudly wear a union blue Mountain Hardwear ballcap. My mission is to challenge myself and reach to places far beyond the limits of the ordinary Joes. To show the rest of the world that while war may tear us apart, climbing can bring us together and fulfill a peace within us. Thank you Mountain Hardwear for helping me to find the 'Freedom of the Hills'.

On my second deployment out to Iraq, I fell under a new job requirement...run, fix and install fiber optic cable to end users for communications on our Forward operating base, FOB Qwest. Our 15 month stretch included splicing fiber optic cable in freezing cold with our hands numb and shaking. Pulling fiber optic cable in rain, muddy trenches and sewers. And in one week pulling 3 and a half miles of fiber in 130 degree weather with blistered hands and soaked in sweat.

This deployment was fun and very outdoor oriented. With the mission in mind and obstacles before us we conquered every element and task. Some decent gloves would have been nice, all in all it was very self fullfilling. God bless America and stay Army Strong.

Long story short, we are trying to change the world...by Going Green! We are Jordan and Carlie, two 24 year-olds with proficient minds and able bodies, not to mention fierce determination and a love of adventure...so where does that leave us? Planning to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail (2,174 miles!) in March of 2008! And here's the kicker: we want to do it for charity...and for all the people who don't have six months to spend living the simple life with only the occasional shower and luxury of toilet paper. We figure, at the hazardous and naive rate that our generation is living, our children's children will have no chance to behold a breathtaking environment with clean water and an ozone that actually semi-works. Our procrastination and laziness should not be allowed to take that from them. Together, we can help!

By Christopher Serenari

View Christopher's photographs on Flickr.

I wish I had something dignified to climb for. The truth was I wasn't climbing for cancer, and I wasn't climbing for inner city youth or any other fund-raising cause. The thought of trekking up a glacier-covered mountain wearing something other than jeans, tennis shoes, and a hooded sweatshirt was a mission I was on for seven years. I guess life got in the way as they say. College, move, first job, move, marriage, new job, move again, another job--you get the picture. In the summer of 2000, I briefly lived and worked in the shadow of Mount Adams. The first thing I did every day was peer out the window to see if the mountain had come out that day to sublimely pose in the Yakima morning sun.

In the months ahead I got up close and personal with Mount Rainier, Hood, Saint Helens, and Adams. These behemoths of the landscape dominated the surrounding cordillera and saturated my imagination like a thousand bikini-clad Jessica Albas. The only peak out of my range was 10,778-foot Mount Baker. Baker was just a phantasm from the window of my airplane. Close enough to get a picture, but far enough away that I had to sift through the clouds to find it.

I returned to the drab corn and soy bean fields of Bowling Green, Ohio to finish college, with the smell of evergreen trees still firmly ingrained in my olfactory system. The allure of glaciated mountain peaks engulfed me: the seracs--towers of ice as big as buildings, the vaporous craters, the crystal blue steam caves, and the crevasses that could swallow buses. I read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, which added fuel to the fire. I soon began reading other books and magazines, and watched videos from the local library about mountaineering. Learning about mountaineering this way was enjoyable, yet something was missing. It took some time to commit, but I realized I had to stop being a poseur and get myself onto a mountain with an ice axe.

September is quickly drawing to a close. And that means that we will soon announce new Mission Project prize winners! This month, we will announce two winners--a Monthly prize (a piece of Mountain Hardwear gear) and a First Prize (a $1,000 Mountain Hardwear shopping spree at an authorized Mountain Hardwear outdoor retailer).

We will give away three First Prizes in 2007, one every four months, and September marks the end of our second period for submissions. All entries qualify for the Grand Prize, a guided mountaineering trip to Mt. Rainier, plus $2,000 Mountain Hardwear shopping spree at RMI (complete with personal shopper guidance provided by Peter Whittaker). Our Grand Prize winner will be announced in January, 2008.

And how do you win these wonderful prizes?

Write a brief account of your latest adventure, and submit it to us. We will post your entry on the Mission Project Blog. You were planning on writing a trip report anyway--why not get something more out of it?

By Gary Klee

My mission project was to go on a 7-day, 96-mile canoe trip in northern Ontario, Canada. I flew 50 miles in a sea plane from Armstrong, Ontario to where I was dropped off. There were over 10 portages and the backpack I carried on the portages was bigger than myself. We caught walleyes and pike for dinner. I was very thankful that I had my mountain hardwear Gore-Tex raincoat. It didn't let a drop of rain get on my clothes even though it rained for half of the trip. I didn't even notice the relentless wind that almost blew my tent away because the raincoat kept me warm. (Luckily, the wind was at my back.) Unfortunately, I forgot my mosquito net hat but I just zipped up the raincoat and put on the hood and I was safe from all of the bugs. Also, my face and ears had blisters from sunburn. If I didn't have the raincoat to protect my arms and neck I would have looked like a tomato. That raincoat protected me from pretty much everything.