Editor’s note: Due to security concerns for the IDF members interviewed, their last names have been omitted.

Eytan was just days away from conquering Mount Everest when he got the call. For him, the biggest climb of his life was just beginning — and it had nothing to do with the world’s largest mountain. 

Eytan, a now 25-year-old Israeli veteran, was traveling in Nepal with four other officers from the Israel Defense Force. 

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A reservist, Etyan has completed his five years of mandatory service as a captain in Israel’s armed forces. A common practice for IDF soldiers is to go on an extended trip after serving their mandatory time, and Eytan selected to take a trip to Asia with his military friends. 

The crew elected to tackle the natural world’s biggest wonder — Mount Everest. Beginning in early October, 2023, Eytan and his friends were making progress in the first few days of their climb. 

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Fourteen hours into the ascent, Eytan began to settle in for the night at camp. He had a Wi-Fi card to access the internet and found his phone was flooded with missed calls and text messages. 

That day, Oct. 7, Hamas — an Islamist militant group — organized a surprise attack on Israel. By Oct. 8, Israel declared itself in a state of war. 

As reservists, Eytan and his friends had to turn around and rush back down the mountain. They never managed to reach the peak. 

Instead, they bribed a helicopter pilot to pick them up and drop them off in the jungle, where they spent a day and a half trekking back to the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu. 

From there, Eytan made it to Dubai and eventually back to Israel. The return took five days but immediately Eytan was assigned to his team and he was off to fight. 

Summits of Strength

Last week, Eytan and a group of five other IDF soldiers arrived at STARS Ranch in Steamboat Springs for physical and mental rehabilitation after being wounded in battle. 

The program, known as Summits of Strength, was fundraised by Chabad Jewish Center of Steamboat Springs. The invited soldiers, ranging in age from 21 to 27, spent the week living at STARS Ranch while skiing at Steamboat Resort and exploring local spots around town. 

The program lasted from March 17-23.

The six IDF soldiers had all served and been wounded during the war in Gaza.

“They have all sustained both physical and emotional injury, and they are on the mend,” said Ruth Alexander, the Outreach and Marketing Manager for STARS. “We’ve already seen, just in these few days, unbelievable changes in their comfort, demeanor, communication and the way they interact with each other.” 

In service

About two and a half weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks, Israeli ground operations began in Northern Gaza. 

By the end of November, Eytan and his infantry unit were given an assignment in the city of Biet Hanoun, which he identified as “a stronghold of Hamas.” 

According to Eytan, civilian homes in the area are connected through a series of underground tunnels and children’s rooms are filled with guns and ammunition.

Eytan and his team of 24 soldiers were dropped off on a Saturday night. By 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, they received their mission to go into the city, take control of an intersection and “destroy the battalion commander of Hamas in Beit Hanoun.” 

Eytan’s infantry unit worked with an armored division, leading the way for the tanks. 

“A tank is not relevant for the first 60 feet,” Eytan explained. “He can’t see underneath his nose. We walk in front of the tanks to make sure the coast is clear.” 

Upon arrival at the targeted intersection, the building Eytan was expecting to take control of had already been destroyed, along with much of the surrounding area, likely due to air force operations from the night before. 

Eytan made the decision to drop his team off about 150 feet away while he and three of his soldiers joined him at the intersection to discuss a plan with the tank commander. 

Sitting just three yards away from their discussion spot was a building Eytan described as being in pristine shape. Naturally, the tank commander suggested it as a perfect place to regroup. 

“As an infantry commander, something in my gut was telling me that something was not right here,” Eytan said. “Something was wrong with the building, it’s too perfect for a warzone… It felt like Hansel and Gretel.” 

Ultimately, Eytan’s gut feeling was strong enough to convince the others to secure a building further down the road. Before the group could get out of range, the beautiful building exploded. 

“The entire building was rigged,” Eytan explained. “It was a huge IED.” 

Shrapnel flew everywhere, penetrating the right side of Eytan’s body from head to toe. The force of the explosion pushed the soldiers to the other side of the intersection, each struggling to move. 

As an independent unit, Eytan’s team has its own assigned doctor. The doctor and other medics rushed to the blast zone and began undressing the soldiers to heal their wounds. 

While the soldiers were being tended to, seven RPG’s and a rain of gunfire sprayed across the intersection. Eytan was shot in the buttocks. 

According to Eytan, “common practice with Hamas is — they hit you, they want everyone to huddle in, and then they hit you again.” 

The four soldiers climbed behind a tank for shelter and assisted each other to get their armored vests back on. The fire fight lasted 10-15 minutes and Eytan said they eliminated one Hamas fighter before the rest scattered. 

Eytan and his team managed to evacuate. He was alive, but the injuries to his body and head would remain forever. 

“I took about four months of physical rehabilitation,” Eytan said. “I did go on another tour in Gaza for two months… then I had brain surgery because of the incident.” 

Aftermath

The physical damage is only half the battle. “PTSD is huge, definitely exists and it takes control of you,” Eytan said. 

He was stuck in his bed for around a year and two months after the injury. Then the unexpected happened.

Eytan got a call earlier this month, asking if he would like to participate in the Summits of Strength program in Steamboat Springs. He had never been to Colorado and was not sure what to expect, but he happily accepted the offer. 

“From the moment we landed, it has been one uplifting moment after another,” Eytan said last week during his stay in town. “This is the first time I’ve been snowboarding since the injury. I was really scared because it is such a thing I love, and I thought if I try this and can’t do it anymore because of the injury, it is making reality a reality.”

The six soldiers ate breakfast at STARS Ranch each morning, then headed to Steamboat Resort for a full day of skiing and riding. 

Each soldier had at least one STARS instructor on the mountain. Some had never slid on snow before while others, like Eytan, had a love for snow sports prior to the experience. 

Eytan said the stoke was as high as ever, but it physically was not quite the same. 

“There is 100% change,” he said. “I was still happy and proud of myself that I could still do the black (runs), but it feels different. Unfortunately that is going to be forever. The pain is there, I had a few moments where I fell down on things I wouldn’t have before… It hurts, but at least I can still do it.” 

Off the mountain, the soldiers spent time at Strawberry Hot Springs, bowling, eating at restaurants downtown and even went to a Nuggets game in Denver. 

Rabbi Isaac Abelsky, the rabbi of Chabad Jewish Center of Steamboat Springs, said the connection the six men made on this trip was inspiring. Only two of them had already known each other, the rest were strangers — but not for long. 

“Moving forward, if there’s a challenging day and they are feeling down about their new circumstance… these are the people that they will pick up a phone call for encouragement from,” Abelsky said. “These are the people they will look to.” 

Steamboat’s Jewish community gave an outpouring of support to the soldiers Friday night during a community dinner at STARS Ranch, which hosted nearly 100 attendees. 

Among those attendees was Rabbi Kolby Morris-Dahary, the rabbi of the local Har Mispacha congregation. 

“I’m grateful that Rabbi Isaac and Chabad included our community in on (the event) and we had many of our Har Mispacha members support the program financially,” Morris-Dahary said. “My big learning from this week is that there is a ton of interest in the Jewish community and the wider community in learning more and leaning into this pretty tough subject of war.”

Eytan was grateful for the experience and was touched by the support. He said it can be easy to feel alone in the world and think that everything around you moves forward while you remain still. 

This trip helped him realize, he is never truly far from home. 

“Whenever you can and however you can, support those who need it,” he said.