Army Aviation Museum Foundation fundraiser exceeds goal

A charity climb event for the Army Aviation Museum Foundation raised $10,320, exceeding its $9,500 goal.

While AAMF Board of Directors member James Bullinger’s charity climb to the peak of a semi-active volcano in Ecuador called Cotopaxi occurred on Feb. 15, the process started much earlier.

Bullinger said the idea started last July when he saw that the Tennessee Valley Chapter of the Army Aviation Association was having a “Climb for the Solider” fundraiser.

“They were going to be hiking round trip six miles and climbing to 9,000 feet,” Bullinger said.

The fundraiser ended up raising $4,005.

So, after returning from a climb to the top of Mt. Whitney last October, Bullinger mulled the idea of turning his planned trip to climb Cotopaxi in Ecuador into a charity climb for the AAMF.

He noted that the AAMF is responsible for funding the Army Aviation Museum since the federal government does not fund new exhibits or aircraft restorations, only the upkeep of the museum.

Bullinger spoke with museum curator Bob Mitchell to try and find a project for the climb to fund.

“He suggested the Cessna YH-41A,” Bullinger said. “He suggested that aircraft because it’s a little known aircraft.”

Through research Bullinger discovered that the aircraft was the first helicopter to land on Pike’s Peak and that the one the museum owns is the only surviving aircraft out of the 10 the Army bought for testing and evaluation.

He said due to transmission problems, the civilian version of the aircraft was also recalled making it one of the only surviving aircraft of its type.

He said the Ecuadorian military purchased and flew six of these helicopters, which connected the climb to the aircraft.

“I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity,” Bullinger said.

Bullinger said that he and Leslie Edens pitched the idea of the charity climb to the Executive Work Group of the museum.

When it came time for the climb, Bullinger chose Estalin Suarez as his guide, a guide he has used many times before.

This was his third trip to Ecuador to climb.

Bullinger said he started with a series of acclamation climbs to get his body ready for the high altitude of Cotopaxi.

The first climb was on Feb. 10 where he climbed to the peak of an eroded and inert volcano called Pasochoa at 13,780 feet.

The second climb was on Feb. 11 to the top of El Corazon (The Heart), another eroded and inert volcano 15,718 feet. Bullinger said he had climbed this volcano before and hoped to see “el perro blanco” or “the white dog” that guided his way to the top during his last climb of the volcano.

The final acclimation climb was actually the hardest climb of the entire trip, according to Bullinger.

He climbed up to the top of Illiniza Sur at 17,268 feet.

“That was the most challenging climb of my life,” Bullinger said. “At four o’ clock in the morning when I’m clinging to a 60-degree slope with my ice axe and toes dug in, my muscles screaming, I’m going, ‘What the hell are you doing here? You could die.’”

He compared the climb to his final climb to Cotopaxi.

“The slopes (of Cotopaxi) only range from about 30 to 50 degrees,” Bullinger said.

On Feb. 15 is when Bullinger and his guide hiked to climber’s refuge on Cotopaxi at 15,959 feet. Then, after a delay due to rain, the two started their climb to the 19,347-foot-tall peak at 11:46 p.m.

The climb took 9 hours and 45 minutes with the two reaching the peak at 9:31 a.m. the next morning.

“It went better than I expected,” Bullinger said. “The issue that I was having was energy level. I should have probably had more time to recuperate before we made this climb.”

Bullinger said he gagged during the climb when he took in two deep breathes of sulfur from the active volcano.

The descent only took about three and a half hours.

During all the climbs, Bullinger kept pledgers up-to-date by posting updates on the AAMF’s Facebook page, including one from the top of Cotopaxi.

With the fundraiser exceeding its goal in the end, Bullinger thanked everyone who pledged.

“So many people came out of the wood work to contribute,” Bullinger said.

Bullinger said that he’s honored to have been a part of this fundraiser.

“For me being an aviator, in the Army and a member of the board being able to help to do something that raises the money for the restoration of this aircraft and any other aircraft is a great honor,” Bullinger said.