Mike Maltz leaning on the tire fourth from the left.
FLOW is hosting two hero workouts this weekend as you were informed earlier this week. Sunday we are hosting the Murph in honor of Medal of Honor recipient SEAL Michael Murphy. Tonight, Friday 22 March, we are viewing a documentary of his life. You are welcome to join us even if you didn’t sign up before. Most of you know part of his story but you can get more information at the movie’s website.
The Maltz Challenge is named in honor of Mike Maltz and supports the group Honor the Fallen. You can look at the website to see the servicemen and service-women being honored this year. Mike was a teammate of mine for several years at two duty stations in Florida and Alaska. He was an intense New Yorker and loved to lift big. The two of us were on a team that summated Mt. McKinley in 1990.
The Maltz Challenge is named in honor of Mike Maltz and supports the group Honor the Fallen. You can look at the website to see the servicemen and service-women being honored this year. Mike was a teammate of mine for several years at two duty stations in Florida and Alaska. He was an intense New Yorker and loved to lift big. The two of us were on a team that summated Mt. McKinley in 1990.
Summit of Mt. McKinley from the Football Field
On the descent after reaching the summit my rope team that included two SEALs encountered a couple of German climbers in a large flat area just below the summit at an elevation of 19,500’ known as The Football Field. They did not speak English and were trying to communicate with us. After the other teams passed and we had begun to move on in trail leaving the Germans as the last climbers on the mountain I turned around as one of them fell down. At this point I removed myself from the rope and headed back to check on them while the rest of our group started to come back. This time it was obvious that the Germans were in distress and we began a full assessment of their condition. They German who I had seen fall was suffering from severe hypothermia and cerebral edema. After preparing them to travel Mike and I were given the task of evacuating the German who was in the worst shape. The rescue would involve putting the survivor between us and walking with him back to the high camp at 17,200’. The trail beyond The Football Field was a 2,000’ traverse from Denali Pass to the camp. This, historically, has been one of the most dangerous places on the mountain as tired climbers descend a member of the rope team will fall and the other team member is too weak to arrest the group before they are all pulled off and plummet to the glacier about 3,000’ below. The bodies that fall in this area aren’t recovered.
The traverse from Denali Pass to 17,000'
It was decided to put the German between Mike and I on the rope and I would break trail. Rope team climbing is used for safety in that when a member falls off the mountain or into a crevasse they yell ‘falling’ and the other teammate immediately performs an ice-ax-arrest by leaning uphill and plunging their ax into the mountain while the falling person rites themselves and gets back on the trail. With a climber on our rope that we had not trained with and did not speak English it became Mike’s responsibility to let me know when our survivor fell. This would happen several times throughout the traverse over the next couple of hours. On at least two occasions the survivor pulled me completely off the trail and Mike was the only thing that stood between me and the Autobahn to the bottom of the glacier. Thankfully his large size and strength paid off and he slowed us down enough that I could recover and stop. We would then get the survivor back up and on the trail to camp.
After a few hours and at the end of our 17 hour day we made it to camp and handed off the Germans to the rest of their team for treatment. This rescue is the highest save performed by pararescue to this day.
Mike went on to be an instructor at INDOC and served at several other units before he was killed. Mike's bio is can be found on the Maltz Challenge website. Many times we perform these workouts without knowing what happened to the people we are honoring. The operations officer for the unit where he was serving wrote a compelling article about what happened from the perspective of the base staff. I encourage you to read it. If you choose to support the group that organizes this event you can buy a tee-shit or make a donation.
See you Saturday, WT
After a few hours and at the end of our 17 hour day we made it to camp and handed off the Germans to the rest of their team for treatment. This rescue is the highest save performed by pararescue to this day.
Mike went on to be an instructor at INDOC and served at several other units before he was killed. Mike's bio is can be found on the Maltz Challenge website. Many times we perform these workouts without knowing what happened to the people we are honoring. The operations officer for the unit where he was serving wrote a compelling article about what happened from the perspective of the base staff. I encourage you to read it. If you choose to support the group that organizes this event you can buy a tee-shit or make a donation.
See you Saturday, WT
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