'7 Summits' climbers scale McKinley

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ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  A team of Air Force mountain climbers have successfully scaled Mount McKinley as part of their quest to climb the highest peak on each of the earth's seven continents.
As part of the "USAF 7 Summits Challenge," the group of Air Force officers reached Mount McKinley's summit June 11. 

According to the "7 Summits" website (www.usaf7summits.com), the climbers "are excited to take on this challenge to honor the members of the (U.S. Air Force), to highlight the importance of personal fitness, to open to the public a new window into the lives of military members, and to promote a worthy charity that brings better lives to widowed Americans and their children." 

Upon reaching each summit, the group unveils an Air Force flag. The group hopes to "be the first American military or governmental group to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first military group in the world to reach all of the famed seven summits." 

A group of six Air Force officers began the Mount McKinley climb May 30th, which is the fourth peak in their goal. So far, climbers from the 7 Summits Team have successfully ascended Mount Elbrus, Russia (Europe), July 2005; Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (Africa), July 2006; and Mount Aconcagua, Argentina (South America), February 2007. Two from the group also climbed The Matterhorn in Switzerland as part of a training climb in September 2007. 

In addition to Mt. McKinley, the group must also climb Australia's Mount Kosciuszko, Antarctica's Vinson Massif, and the world's tallest mountain, Mt. Everest. Because of some dispute over whether Indonesia's Carstensz Pyramid counts as a highest peak (Australasia) or Australia's Mount Kosciuszko should be considered one of the seven, the group will also climb Carstensz Pyramid once they've completed the main seven.
 
A big part of these climbs is to raise awareness and funds for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, whose goal is to provide free college scholarship grants, along with financial aid and educational counseling, to the children of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps Special Operations personnel who were killed in an operational mission or training accident.