Soldiers raise more than $7,000 in Habitat for Humanity fundraiser as they climb Mt. Adams

Earlier this month, two local soldiers raised more than $7,000 in donations to Habitat for Humanity as part of their climb to the summit of Mount Adams.

Two members of the 10th Mountain Division stationed at Fort Drum in New York — 1st Lt. Jacob Wilson and Sgt. 1st Class Jacob Carlson — decided to give back to their local community by holding a fundraiser and coming home to Washington state to climb Mount Adams. Along with Wilson’s father, Doug Wilson, the group tackled the mountain on a two-day trip on Aug. 1 and 2.

Jacob Wilson, a Bellevue local, and Carlson of Tacoma came up with the idea to climb Mount Adams as a way to give back to their local community around the military base.

“Communities do a big amount to give back to the soldiers and support the soldiers,” Jacob Wilson said. “When I first took over the platoon, we were talking about what sort of volunteer events we could do for those that want to.”

Both Carlson and Jacob Wilson had volunteered with Habitat for Humanity before, helping with construction of homes for people in need, so they chose to raise money for the organization.

They started raising money by going to local businesses in their area, asking for support. Back in Washington, they also received donations through friends, family and social media. Jacob Wilson thanked his father for help in raising money back home in Bellevue.

When Jacob Wilson and Carlson arrived in Washington in July, they redoubled their fundraising efforts and were able to surpass their goal of $6,700 for a total of $7,200. All of the money raised went to the Thousand Islands area Habitat for Humanity chapter, Jacob Wilson said.

The money will go primarily toward purchasing construction materials for both remodels and new construction.

With the money raised, the group of three prepared for their climb. After a five-hour drive and camping Northeast of the mountain the night before, they began their climb on Aug. 1.

“We started climbing around 10 a.m. and you go through some burned-out timber from a forest fire, then you get above the treeline, get to go through some creeks, the weather could not have been better,” Jacob Wilson said. “It’s not overly long in distance, only about 12 miles, just elevation that makes it difficult.”

The men climbed to 9,200 feet on the first day and at 3 p.m., they arrived at a resting area known as the lunch counter. There, they set up camp against a rock in the well-established area where other climbers had set up camp on past climbs.

“Previous climbers have built these wind shelters. We found two nice spots, even some trickling water for glacier runoff,” Jacob Wilson said. “We hung out for the afternoon, made some camp dinner, the goal was to acclimate primarily, didn’t want to go to 12,000 feet in one go.”

The climbers didn’t get much sleep that night as the howling winds battered their tent, keeping them up until about 2 a.m., when they got up to prepare to climb to the summit in time to catch the sunrise.

“The moon was almost full so there was a lot of light, we were climbing under moonlight and headlamps,” Jacob Wilson said.

On the second half of the climb, they left most of their weight behind and climbed the rest of the way with crampons, ice axes and climbing poles. From 9,000-11,000 feet Jacob Wilson described the terrain as “one continuous slope.”

As they neared the summit, the sun began to rise and the group pushed themselves the rest of the way up to get to the top in time.

“The first light coming over the horizon, it was beautiful seeing the shadows being cast from the mountains,” Jacob Wilson said.

Ultimately, Jacob Wilson and Carlson were both very happy with the success of both the fundraiser and climb. The recipients of their donation were happy too, hosting a media event for their official donation of the funds.

“It was a tremendous experience, being in the outdoors but knowing it was a cause going to the local community and someone is going to be supported by what came from the fundraiser and Climb for a Cause,” Jacob Wilson said.

He and his platoon will be deployed to the Middle East soon, he said, but he would still like to help out Habitat for Humanity more before they have to leave.

“I hope before I leave, to actually volunteer with one of the projects here to see and help with where the money is going to,” Jacob Wilson said.

Carlson, far left, and Wilson, far right, donate their money they raised to Habitat for Humanity in the Thousand Island area of New York. Courtesy Photo