| John Cannon (far right) and friends at the summit of Grand Teton on Aug. 10 |
Sarasota, Fla., builder John Cannon conquered a treacherous challenge in August. And no, we don't mean a difficult customer.
After spending a week training to qualify for the attempt, Cannon scaled 13,700-foot Grand Teton mountain in Wyoming.
The technical climb takes two days. Starting at 6,000 feet, climbers make their way to 11,000 feet, where they camp for a few hours. They resume at 3 a.m. for a scheduled 7 a.m. arrival at the summit. The moment is short-lived, as they must descend the mountain by nightfall.
"Most people in our profession spend every waking moment thinking about home building. The same goes with me," says Cannon, an avid outdoorsman. "But I can honestly say I did not think about it once during this trip. You think about holding on and making sure the guy behind you is properly belayed (roped in). You're thinking about every step so you don't twist an ankle or even fall."
Now Cannon is thinking about climbing 19,000-foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania next summer.
"I'm still on a high," he says.
Have an interesting off hours hobby? PB wants to share it with others. E-mail Patrick O'Toole at potoole@reedbusiness.com.
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