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2011 was indeed special. It involves a story about a father and three sons, one of whom has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. The father is part of Band of Brothers and raised the idea of bringing his sons out to Colorado. In particular, he wanted to get his 14 year old son with cerebral palsy to the top of Quandary Peak – elevation 14,265 feet.  Detailed plans were made on developing a device to carry Alex, as well as plans for forming a carrying team and providing for medical and supply support.

At 7:00 am on the morning of Sunday, August 25, 2011, more than 120 men from Band of Brothers set out from the Quandary Peak trailhead for the summit.Approximately 30 men from Band of Brothers formed the “A Team – Team Alex”. These were strong and capable hikers from all walks of life and all ages. Young men in their late teens teamed up with men in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s to share the load. Two of these men are fathers themselves of boys that are confined to a wheelchair. Over the course of the next few hours, these men would share turns using a stretcher device to carry Alex safely over steep terrain.

Alex was just another boy going up the trail. Hundreds of people on the trail that day experienced “Team Alex”. As the team reached the summit at approximately 10:45 am, more than 100 people on the top of Quandary Peak stood up, cheered and clapped for Alex and the team. A well planned and monumental task had been completed. A dream of a 14 year old young man was achieved.

Many did not know Alex personally. Hundreds will never forget what happened on that day.One hiker who witnessed the experience commented that “I have been hiking mountains for decades and have never seen anything as inspirational as this.” Another hiker emailed us, stating “What a blessing and encouragement to see you guys and your love for Alex!” One of our A Team members noted “There were hundreds of people on the mountain that day and none of them left without being touched in some way. People were asking ‘who are you guys?’ and ‘what are you doing?’ What an opportunity to witness our Father’s love for us by showing extreme love to one who was in need of a little extra help. On Sunday, we stopped at nothing to help all of those people on Quandary Peak experience the heart of the King!”