Hound Summit Team and Veterans Expedition team up in getting veteran's to the summit

HST climbers, supporters, friends, and family,

I am excited to announce the merger between Hound Summit Team and Veterans Expeditions! VetEx is a Colorado based nonprofit that uses wilderness challenges to connect all veterans, create community and raise awareness. Their work supports the reintegration of veterans into society and empowers them to overcome the challenges many face following military service. Our shared vision and mission provide a natural fit to expand our efforts to the national level.
While we are joining a larger family, the Hound Summit Team climbers and leaders will continue to empower Veterans and Wounded Warriors in the Pacific Northwest through climbing and mountaineering for years to come. In 2013, VetEx and our HST veterans will be tackling five major expeditions in the Pacific Northwest, to include  Mt Rainier, Mt Olympus, and climbs in the North Cascades and the Enchantments. Our mission this summer is to show the world that there is no limit to what empowered Veterans can do. You can continue to support our team and follow the adventures of our warrior climbers through the VetEx website www.vetexpeditions.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/VetExpeditions I encourage you to subscribe to our VetEx blog, like us on Facebook, and checkout the website to learn more about our new team.

We would like to take this opportunity to offer our deepest thanks to our friends, families, and supporters that have made everything we have achieved in the last few years possible. We have served over 50 individual Veterans on over 30 events, to include adventures on Mt Rainier, Mt Baker, Mt Hood, Mt Shuksan, Mt Adams, and the rest of the Cascades range. We would also like to thank our sponsors Outdoor Research, Sterling Rope, Cascade Designs, Outdoor Prolink, ADS, Wounded Warrior Project, the Running Hound, and Remote Medical. Most importantly we’d like to express our deepest admiration and pride in our Veteran and Wounded Warrior climbers. It has been an honor to call you our comrades. Your exploits continue to humble and inspire all of us.

Thank you for your support, and join us in our future expeditions into the mountains!

Hound Summit Team and Veterans Expeditions

Rainier Climb

HST / VetEx will be climbing on Mt Rainier on Memorial Day. Please let us know if you are interested in joining us.

Ice Climbing in Hyalite!

Great week in Bozeman!  Thank you Veterans Expeditions,  Montana Alpine Guides,  Sierra Club,  and Conrad Anker for an amazing week!

Pictures and more articles to follow.

Bozeman Chronicle Article

American Alpine Club Cascade Section Annual Dinner

http://cascadesectiondinner.brownpapertickets.com

Race for a Soldier

Check Out Race for a Soldier.  An awesome organization doing amazing work for our Vets. We look forward to partnering with them in the future!

http://www.raceforasoldier.org

Outdoor Research Vertfest

Check it out and support our sponsor.  Always a blast!

Make your plans now to attend the best Festival of Freeride and Mountain Mettle in North America February 16 and 17. The weekend kicks off with the Monika Johnson Memorial Rally Saturday the 16. Following the race, the legendary awards ceremony and raffle are back again with skis, packs and trucks loads of gear to shovel out to the audience.
The ceremony is followed by opening act Head Like A Kite, featuring Tilson from the Seattle based Hip-Hop group, the Saturday Knights. Headliners Daydream Vacation, featuring Asya of NYC based Smoosh , bring their costumed craziness and killer stage presence, to close out the evening.
Clinics are back Sunday with special guest Jessica Baker of Ski Divas and Jackson Hole, WY, and Neil Provo, professional splitboarder from Salt Lake City.
Our host of sponsors will be demoing gear all weekend as always!

Vertfest Site

Remote Medical International Partnership

HST would like to thank Remote Medical International for their support for one of our Vets during their December Wilderness First Responder course in Seattle,  Washington.  The class was some of the best training our climber had seen outside of the military,  and the instructors, Cait Parker and Michael Spencer, were incredibly knowledgeable and professional. We highly recommend their program for both tactical and back country medical training for everyone from recreational and outdoor professionals to military and government medical personnel. We look forward to expanding our relationship with them in the coming year as apart of our Mountain Warrior Program. Please check them out here.

Happy New Year!

Thank you for an amazing year! All of us wish you a Happy New Year and we are looking forward to an even bigger 2013. Your support has made a huge impact in the lives of our Wounded Warrior and Veteran climbers. We are humbled and amazed every day at the achievements of our warriors and the support from our friends and family.

ADS Sponsorship



The Hound Summit Team is proud to announce our new sponsor ADS Inc. ADS has been at the forefront of equipping our military with top quality gear. We would like to offer a special thanks to Drew Felty of ADS for making this possible.

Please check out their website at http://www.adsinc.com/

Fun at Vantage

Fun at Vantage last weekend!


 

Mike "Santa" Pickerel

Feathers

Early morning snow!







The Running Hound

HST is proud to introduce The Running Hound, Jordan Penland. Jordan is a Naval Officer and younger brother of founder Joshua Brandon. He has set his sight's on the Boston Marathon, and he's decided to combine his new found love of running marathons with his passion for supporting Veterans and Wounded Warriors. As The Running Hound, he will both represent and support HST in his quest for Boston glory. Please take a moment to visit his Facebook page to learn more about his project and show him well deserved support. 

Jordan after the Montreal Rock n Roll Marathon

From Jordan's site: 

My name is Jordan Penland and I am the Running Hound. It is a privilege to share with you a cause to which I have dedicated my time and which I hope you will join in supporting:

The Running Hound is an initiative to raise money for the Hound Summit Team, a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to aid Veterans battling PTSD and combat related injuries through enabling them to overcome these challenges through building confidence, physical ability, and leadership on mountain expeditions.

https://www.houndsummitteam.org/

I will be raising money for the Hound Summit Team by running a set of Marathons leading up to the Boston Marathon in April. The Hound Summit Team does amazing work with veterans and wounded warriors, a cause very near and dear to me as it affects members of my family, but let me begin by telling you a little more about myself. I am an Ensign in the US Navy currently in training to become a Submarine Officer. I received my commission via NROTC at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook'em!) in 2011. Both my brothers have served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At my first Marathon in Montreal, I was able to clock in at 3:18:22, a great time for a first-timer. After this first race, I was immediately hooked and determined to continue on and pursue a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon, the most prestigious Marathon in the world. However, I wanted my pursuit of this goal to benefit something more than just myself.

My time for the first Marathon I ran was 13 minutes off the Boston qualifying time of 3:05:00 (ages 18-28). My goal is to break this barrier in time to run in the Boston Marathon.

Running competitively and training for the Boston Marathon requires an immense amount of time, determination and, of course, money. I and the members and participants of the Hound Summit Team would appreciate your donation towards this cause. Any donation is accepted and every dollar counts! All donations go directly to the Hound Summit Team through the PayPal link below!

Can you help me in supporting this tremendous cause!?

DONATE HERE:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T59A3T6EVGLYL

If you have any questions, please contact the Running Hound (Jordan Penland) via email at jtpenland@gmail.com or via phone at (210) 286-6194.

Please feel free to forward and share this with friends and family and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRunningHound

Thank you!

Vantage Climbing

Based upon the forecast this weekend, we're planning on a meetup climb at Vantage on Saturday and Sunday. If you want to go, let us know by Friday afternoon so we can plan transportation and gear.

WWP weekly climbing at Edgeworks on Thursday as well!

TNF Speaker Series Tonight

Come say hello tonight.

Mon. October 8, 2012
Jimmy Chin, Alpinist, The Impossible Climb | Olympia, WA |
Brought to you by The North Face & Alpine Experience

Jimmy Chin is one of the most sought-after adventure photographers working today. He's been a photographer, climber and skier on cutting edge expeditions around the world, from first ascents in the Karakoram to a ski descent from the summit of Everest. For such feats, he was named an Emerging Explorer by the National Geographic Society. Jimmy's toughest expedition was his ascent of an ice-coated granite fang in the Himalayas called Meru. The quest began in 2008, when he and his partners were defeated by a massive storm that held them captive on the wall for 19 days with just 8 days' worth of food. Determined to finish the job, Jimmy and his team returned in 2011, and successfully scaled one of the planet's most treacherous rock walls. Their adventure is a testament to the art of suffering, and the strength of teamwork.

VIP reception will be held at The Olympic Building and will benefit Washington Climbers Coalition. Many thanks to our sponsor, Alpine Experience!

Purchase Tickets Here

HST Update for 20 September

Due to poor air quality in the Leavenworth area and the Eastern Cascades (And the fact that our climbers are absolutely beat from a great season), we are cancelling the Stuart climb for this weekend. If the weather holds into the fall, we might look at still knocking it out, but nothing is in stone (granite to be specific) right now.

Instead, we will be working on rock skills and leading in the North Bend area this weekend. As per usual, let us know if you are interested in coming out. 

As for the rest of the fall, we plan on cragging at least once a week in Leavenworth or North Bend until the weather catches up with us, at which point we'll shift to Vantage. All of these climbs will be meet up climbs, so follow the calendar and the blog for dates and times. 

We're also debating a meetup climb in Leavenworth during Oktoberfest. We're thinking about hitting pitches in the morning, then heading into town during the afternoon. It will be come as you are / first come first serve camping unless you had the foresight to book a hotel room. If you are interested, please let us know. We'll narrow down a weekend based upon climber's schedules. 

We had an amazing time exploring Exit 38 Farside last weekend for the first time. There are some hidden gems, and all of the climbers around us were really cool to hangout with. As usual, fried pickles and micro-beverages were the perfect post climb reward at the North Bend Bar and Grill. 

Pick Up Rock Climbing

We're planning a pickup rock climbing day this Sunday, September 16th. We're looking at Leavenworth or the North Bend area. We'll carpool early Sunday morning, and return Sunday night. Please contact Joshua Brandon if you are down to climb. 

Also, don't forget free Thursday night climbing at Edgeworks in Tacoma sponsored by the Wounded Warrior Project.

Mystery Ranch Sponsorship

The Hound Summit Team is excited to announce a sponsorship with Mystery Ranch. We are proud to use their top of the line packs in our future outdoor endeavors. Mystery Ranch and Dana Gleason have an honored heritage of over 30 years in the outdoor industry. Please take the time to learn more about the company support them. From all of our active duty members, veterans, climbers, and supporters, Thank You Mystery Ranch!

Glacier Peak

Earlier this month, HST member Joshua Brandon completed a two day solo climb of Glacier Peak in the North Cascades. The climb, easily enjoyed in three days (more of a death march in two), is an amazing, remote location with some of the best views of the Cascade range from its summit. Leaving the Army on September 1st, Joshua did it to mark his transition from soldier to climber. The day after, member Derek Quintanilla and his party did a two day climb of the peak HST rocking out on Labor Day weekend.. Enjoy the views:

View from camp

White Chuck Glacier

Stalling in the bivvy

Glacier lake goodness

Summit Cone

On the top

Assessing the damage

A surprise for Derek

HST Update!

HST is in the middle of peak season, and loving every minute of it! After a successful Shuksan climb and some craggin' in Leavenworth, our members had an absolute blast participating in the HST -WWP North Cascades Multi-Sport Trip (Thanks to Heather Timins for organizing a great event) and the WWP Summit Challenge down in Utah. One of our climbers was able to spend two extra days training and craggin' in the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons near Salt Lake as well. 

On labor Day weekend, several of our climbers will be climbing on Glacier Peak in the North Cascades Range.

Later this week, we're tentatively looking at climbing the Outer Space Route on the Snow Creek Wall near Leavenworth, and we're really looking forward to the AAC Craggin' Classic down in Oregon (14th-16th). Rumor has it their might be a diversion to to the Sounders-Timbers away game as well. As always, all are welcome at our weekly climbing / bouldering at Edgeworks in Tacoma (Graciously sponsored by the WWP). Finally, we're super stoked for our Mt. Stewart climb the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd. October is wide open at this point, and we're really basing our schedule around pickup climbs and the weather. 

If you'd like to participate in any of these events, drop us a line here.

Please check out what are friends are doing at AAC , NWMS, VetEx and High Ground.

Enjoy some sweet shots, stories to follow:

JB Craggin' in Leavenworth

Approaching Shuksan's Pyramid

Grady on the Summit!

North Cascades trip with WWP

Dan and JB showing off their sweet outfits at the WWP Summit Challenge

Hound Summit Team Memorial Day Limb Climb in honor of Sergeant Nick Dickhut

Hound Summit Team Memorial Day Limb Climb in honor of Sergeant Nick Dickhut

May 25-27, 2012

Sergeant Nick Dickhut

Honor the Fallen Link

On Sunday, 27 May, the Hound Summit Team planted an American flag on the summit of Mount Adams in honor of Sergeant Nicholas Dickhut of 5-20 IN. Sergeant Dickhut was killed in action while engaging enemy forces near Zharay, Afghanistan on April 30th, 2012. 

The Mount Adams climb was the first official wounded warrior climb of the season, and included five members of Active Duty Military, the Wounded Warrior Program, and the Hound Summit Team. 

On a day that saw Mount Adams turn away more climbers than it let up, the HST members worked together to get the flag to the summit and then safely down the mountain. The team fought high winds and dramatically changing conditions on the way to the top. At the summit, Joshua Brandon said a few words for Nick, and every other warrior, friend, and loved ones we have lost in the service of our country. During the long descent to camp, the mountain rewarded us with spectacular views and a beautiful snowfall. 

Thank you to all of our friends and sponsors who made this trip possible. Please join us in supporting our warriors in our first annual wounded warrior climb of Mount Rainier from 19-21 June. 

Flag on the summit in honor of Special Dickhut. 

HST Adams Team before pushing up from the Lunch Counter.

HST leaders Mike Pickerel and Joshua Brandon.

HST Climber Joshua Brandon's Interview with the National Center for PTSD's About Face Program

Check out the interview at the link below.

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/about_face/veterans/maj-joshua-brandon/who-i-am.html