RHLI Soldiers Summit “The Beast in the East”

WO Sean Fletcher, The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
Photos Courtesy of WO Sean Fletcher and Sgt Tim Outtrim, The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry

Beginning on Jan 2nd Sgt Tim Outtrim, Sgt Mark Brewster, MCpl Matt Drumm and myself rang in the New Year by putting the skills acquired on our Mountain Operations Course to good use. “After recently completing the AMO course, I knew it was time to attempt a more challenging mountain”, says MCpl Drumm, referring to the CF Advanced Mountain Operations course. “We trained hard for several months leading up to the trip to ensure we were in peak physical condition to attempt a climb of this calibre.”

We travelled 15 hours to Maine from Hamilton, ON, to climb Katahdin (Penobscot Indian for “Great Mountain”) and at 1606 meters, it’s the highest peak in the state. Located in Baxter State Park, all access roads to the mountain are closed during winter. “This meant we had 20 km of uphill travel ahead of us just to reach Camp 1,” says Sgt Mark Brewster. “Hauling 27 kg sleds by alpine touring ski, we made the trek in just under seven hours.” The following day we travelled the final five km up much steeper terrain to Camp 2 at the base of the looming north face of Katahdin. The evening was spent inspecting gear and making sure we were fully hydrated and fuelled for the summit push the following day.

As with most military operations, our attack on the summit began at first light. “Our alpine start was a definite advantage when we found our route to the summit hindered by deep snow and avalanche debris,” commented Sgt Outtrim. “It was a gruelling four-hour trek through thigh-deep snow where trail-breaking duties had to be switched often.” Once past treeline the deep snow gave way to wind scoured, rocky terrain for the remaining 1.5 km to the foggy summit. By noon, we proudly flew the RHLI flag from the highest point in Maine!

Although ideal for flying our colours, we realized the increasing winds gave us limited time to descend to the treeline. The wind was soon over 75 km/h bringing wind-chill temperatures of close to the same with less than 50-metre visibility. After a half-hour of this, we were forced to navigate by map and compass just to find our descent gully and avoid the 600m vertical drop bordering our route to the north. “Solid navigation skills are so important when the weather turns on you,” says Sgt Brewster.

Treeline finally came, and with it relief that the worst was behind us. Back in Camp 2 however, we knew the long hike out of the park lay ahead. We ate a quick high calorie dinner, slept for an hour, packed our kit, and began our 25 km hike out. By this time the winter sun had long set, but bright moonlight relieved us from what we thought would be hours of headlamp trekking. The banter regarding the success of our climb gave way to kilometre after kilometre of silence, as all long marches tend to.

Morale increased as we arrived back at our vehicle at two a.m. on the morning of the 6th, and the long drive back to Ontario left us pondering the numbers of the journey. Over the course of 72 hours we travelled 65 km in arctic conditions, hauled 27 kg toboggans and climbed one vertical mile in elevation. We encountered 75 km/h winds in -25° C temperatures and had tamed the “Beast from the East” - Katahdin! This training brought a great sense of accomplishment and validation that represents the re-emerging importance of the Mountain Operations qualification in the Canadian Forces.

Warrant Officer Sean Fletcher is Company Sergeant Major of C Coy, The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.