BLACK RAPIDS ? Forty soldiers from U.S. Army Alaska and cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., tackled the often treacherous terrain here July 14-25 during the Northern Warfare Training Center?s mountaineering course.
The two-week course consists of lessons in mountain land navigation, fixed rope rappelling and belaying, top rope climbing, knot tying, rope management, and movement over snow and ice.
The students must successfully complete two written tests ? one on land navigation and a comprehensive final exam ? as well as pass mountain stakes, the hands-on test, to graduate the course.
?Our goal is not to teach the students to climb Mount McKinley, but to navigate in mountainous terrain,? said 1st Sgt. Stacy Griffith, NWTC. ?We don?t teach them technical climbing techniques, but the basics.?
The soldiers can then go back to their units and provide a base of knowledge on how to navigate in mountain terrain, so the unit can operate more efficiently in that type of environment.
This year?s course was more rigorous than past years because a land navigation course was added.
The land navigation course is important because of the many Center for Army Lessons Learned messages from Afghanistan, stating that soldiers are having a difficult time navigating the mountain terrain there, Griffith said.
The drop-out rate for land navigation at the USARAK Primary Leadership Development Course was also a factor in the decision to add to the curriculum.
At the mountain land navigation course students must find three out of four points in five hours wearing their survival rucksack, load bearing vest, Kevlar helmet and carrying their weapon. They trek over mountainous terrain starting at about 1,800 feet above sea level, covering about five to six kilometers.
?It?s far from easy when you add the elevation and terrain,? Griffith said. ?The soldiers have to fight with the alders (bushes) and rocks while maneuvering around cliffs and streams.?
Spc. James Fisher, HQ Battery, 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, said land navigation in a mountainous environment has been the most challenging aspect of the course.
?You can?t keep a pace count and can?t shoot a straight azimuth because you have to go through thick brush, trees and other obstacles,? he said. ?We have to use an altimeter and terrain features to find our location.?
Physical challenges have also been obstacles to overcome for some students.
?We start early, and with all the practice, we are usually working until 9:30 or 10 p.m. After a while it starts to wear on you; tire you out,? Fisher said.
That?s the way the course is designed.
?If future students think they are going to come here and climb a rock and have a two-week vacation, they are sadly mistaken,? Griffith said. ?This course takes lots of work, both physically and mentally.? Class leader and recent Ranger School graduate Staff Sgt. Mitchell Hanson, Company C, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, agreed that the course wears both mind and body.
?For future students, I recommend hitting the books,? he said. ?Read the Army?s mountaineering manual, and prepare yourself physically. Run up and down Birch Hill to condition yourself, because you have to be in good shape to be successful in this course.?
But the end result of the course is worth all the effort.
?When you successfully climb a rock face, it really builds your confidence,? Fisher said. ?You learn to trust in your handholds and your footholds. It makes you feel like you could climb any rock out there.?
The two-week course consists of lessons in mountain land navigation, fixed rope rappelling and belaying, top rope climbing, knot tying, rope management, and movement over snow and ice.
The students must successfully complete two written tests ? one on land navigation and a comprehensive final exam ? as well as pass mountain stakes, the hands-on test, to graduate the course.
?Our goal is not to teach the students to climb Mount McKinley, but to navigate in mountainous terrain,? said 1st Sgt. Stacy Griffith, NWTC. ?We don?t teach them technical climbing techniques, but the basics.?
The soldiers can then go back to their units and provide a base of knowledge on how to navigate in mountain terrain, so the unit can operate more efficiently in that type of environment.
This year?s course was more rigorous than past years because a land navigation course was added.
The land navigation course is important because of the many Center for Army Lessons Learned messages from Afghanistan, stating that soldiers are having a difficult time navigating the mountain terrain there, Griffith said.
The drop-out rate for land navigation at the USARAK Primary Leadership Development Course was also a factor in the decision to add to the curriculum.
At the mountain land navigation course students must find three out of four points in five hours wearing their survival rucksack, load bearing vest, Kevlar helmet and carrying their weapon. They trek over mountainous terrain starting at about 1,800 feet above sea level, covering about five to six kilometers.
?It?s far from easy when you add the elevation and terrain,? Griffith said. ?The soldiers have to fight with the alders (bushes) and rocks while maneuvering around cliffs and streams.?
Spc. James Fisher, HQ Battery, 4th Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, said land navigation in a mountainous environment has been the most challenging aspect of the course.
?You can?t keep a pace count and can?t shoot a straight azimuth because you have to go through thick brush, trees and other obstacles,? he said. ?We have to use an altimeter and terrain features to find our location.?
Physical challenges have also been obstacles to overcome for some students.
?We start early, and with all the practice, we are usually working until 9:30 or 10 p.m. After a while it starts to wear on you; tire you out,? Fisher said.
That?s the way the course is designed.
?If future students think they are going to come here and climb a rock and have a two-week vacation, they are sadly mistaken,? Griffith said. ?This course takes lots of work, both physically and mentally.? Class leader and recent Ranger School graduate Staff Sgt. Mitchell Hanson, Company C, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, agreed that the course wears both mind and body.
?For future students, I recommend hitting the books,? he said. ?Read the Army?s mountaineering manual, and prepare yourself physically. Run up and down Birch Hill to condition yourself, because you have to be in good shape to be successful in this course.?
But the end result of the course is worth all the effort.
?When you successfully climb a rock face, it really builds your confidence,? Fisher said. ?You learn to trust in your handholds and your footholds. It makes you feel like you could climb any rock out there.?
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