Marblehead grandfather Alf Wilson has been climbing mountains most of his life. So it was an easy decision to rappel down the outside of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge to raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation on June 15.
“Rappelling is no big deal for me,” said Wilson, who is 77 years old. “I’ve been a climber since I was a student back in the ’60s, and I still climb.”
Of course, urban rappelling, as it is called, is a little different. For instance, Wilson was urged to wear a costume — a Batman or Spiderman outfit, perhaps.
“I decided to wear a business suit and dress shoes,” he said with a laugh. “They tell me I’m the only one who has rappelled in a jacket and tie.”
The Epilepsy Foundation partnered with Over the Edge, a company that organizes urban rappelling events as fundraisers.
Wilson was hoping to rappel the Prudential building in Boston but was assigned the Hyatt instead.
“It was only about 150 feet tall,” he said wistfully.
Wilson, and a few other daredevils, took a glass elevator to the top of the 13-story Hyatt, where they clipped into a rappel device and harness.
“You hold a little handle, a lever, and you just squeeze that to go down,” he explained.
He rappelled slowly, so people could snap photos. The trip down lasted about a minute.
When Wilson started climbing, harnesses hadn’t been invented yet.
“We just had a rope go around our shoulder and under our thigh,” he said. “So if you were climbing the Alps and you let go of the rope, you’d be dead. Today, you can let go of the rope and wave at everybody.”
Wilson has climbed mountains around the world, including the Alps, Yosemite, the Tetons in Wyoming and the Atlas Mountains in North Africa.
“It’s a unique challenge,” he said. “It’s a great sense of achievement when you do a climb. You’re usually in very attractive areas, so you get a unique view.”
Wilson, whose granddaughter lives with epilepsy, raised about $8,000 for the foundation. He plans to do it again next year, possibly with his 12-year-old son.
“He says he’ll do it with me, but it’s a full year away… so it’s a safe offer,” he said.
Wilson’s fundraiser remains open until July 1. To learn more, click HERE.
