The Military Health System News Service has an inspiring piece on Lt. Col. Marc Hoffmeister, who overcame odds to climb Mt. McKinley after being wounded by a roadside bomb three years ago. To commemorate his accomplishment, National Geographic magazine readers voted him Adventurer of the Year.

Photo courtesy of the NHS

Hoffmeister’s climb took place last year. During the climb, he served as leader of an expedition consisting of three other wounded veterans. The men had to devise creative solutions to work together to overcome the challenges presented by their respective disabilities.

“Who can tie knots for me and for Jon because our hands don’t work?” Hoffmeister asked. “How do we handle load distribution or how do we handle snowshoes for Matt who’s working off of a prosthetic leg? How do we protect Dave’s face from the UV radiation from the snow?”

“It was necessary for all of us to be in tune with where we were at physically and mentally throughout the climb and then adjust the team’s pace or load or take a rest day based upon how somebody else was doing in the team,” he continued.

Read the full story here.