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Group of wounded vets reach Denali summit

by Leyla Santiago
Wednesday, June 17, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The group of wounded warriors calling themselves Operation Denali that set out to climb Mount McKinley reached their goal Tuesday.

But not everyone made it. Two climbers turned back after concerns about altitude sickness. The other four, however, reached the summit.

Matt Nyman, a leg amputee who fought in Iraq, and John Kuniholm, an arm amputee who also served in Iraq, are expected to be OK.

The team leader says the group reached camp at 14,000 feet, but shortly after that the altitude started to get to some of the team members.

"It was a very frustrating thing I know personally for both John and Matt and also to the team," said team leader Marc Hoffmeister. "But the impact in altitude is something few of us can predict and their performance was exemplary and all of us are very proud of what they achieved during the climb."

Nyman reached 17,200 feet while Kuniholm reached 16,200 feet.

The group is still on schedule and plans to return to Talkeetna on June 21.

Contact Leyla Santiago at lsantiago@ktuu.com