Military personnel gather along Turnagain Arm for cold weather training

Ken Smith/Turnagain Times Members of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and active duty gathered for cold weather training along Turnagain Arm. Kacee Holmes, 27, tackles his fi rst ice climbing experience with ease. Holmes is from Florida and a pararescuemen with the Air Force Reserve.

By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times

Fifteen members of the U.S. Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and active duty, gathered on Turnagain Arm the week of Feb. 10 for cold weather training. The training included a very specialized form of rescue—ice climbing. And the cold, clear weather that week offered ideal ice climbing conditions.
For some in training, it was their first time on an icy cliff.
Kacee Holmes, 27, a Staff Sergeant with the Air Force Reserves is stationed in Florida and he specializes in para rescue missions.
“Not too much ice in Florida,” he said. Despite having no experience, Holmes climbed the ice effortlessly for about 100 feet then made his way calmly back down.
“I came up specifically for cold weather rescue training,” he said. We get to come here and definitely take advantage of it. It’s a new experience for me. My first time doing this. I’m getting more comfortable every time.”
Holmes has 10 years of full-time service in the Air Force Reserves, and like everybody training that day, he has seen action all over the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I’ve been involved in combat search and rescue missions,” he said. “We did a lot of medivacs, searches for soldiers that had fallen in a river. We did not find one of the soldiers.”
He described the terrain in Afghanistan as “nasty mountains.”
“Bad terrain,” added John Romspert, a 34-year-old Second Lieutenant with the Air National Guard in Alaska. “You can have everything from dessert to high altitude mountains. You’ve got some that are 18,000 feet in the northeast of Afghanistan with a base altitude of 5,000 feet.
Romspert has six years experience ice climbing. He said he’s used that experience during rescues on Mt. St. Elias where he found himself in an almost vertical environment. He said they’ve also worked with the National Park Service pulling climbers off of Denali.
“Most of the technical climbers can get themselves out of the vertical environment,” he said, “but we’re ready for it if they can’t.”
Romspert has been involved in rescue missions abroad as well in the Philippines and Africa.
The military members training that week came from all corners of the country: Hawaii, Florida, New York, and Washington D.C. All for one purpose—to be prepared for all conditions when the rescue call comes.
“We trained for all aspects of cold weather,” Romspert said. “Clothing, equipment, climbing. We find ourselves anywhere from Portage to 17,000 feet on Mt. McKinley.”
The ice climbing training was conducted along the Arm with permission by the Alaska Railroad, which allowed the military to access areas next to the tracks just off the Seward Highway between Girdwood and Bird.
“There’s easy access from the road and it saves a lot of time,” said Romspert. “We try to routinely use this area because it’s really convenient.”