When most men turn 93, they may desire a fancy dinner out with friends or family and a good nap. But, not Everett Kalin.
He was looking for adventure instead, and set his sights on climbing to the summit of the Half Dome mountain at Yosemite National Park. The 8,000-foot quartz mountain gets its name because half of it is a sheer cliff.
According to Wikipedia, the climb to the top follows an 8.2-mile route from the bottom of the valley that goes past two big waterfalls. But the final 400 feet requires climbers to rely on steel cables to to help hoist themselves up the mountain.
Everett is no stranger to adventure. He tried skydiving when he turned 91, according to the San Francisco Gate.
“When you hit your 90s, you think, ‘What would be some things I’d like to do?’” he told the paper. “I guess Half Dome was the thing that most popped into my mind.”
When he reached the top, Everett became one of the oldest, if not the oldest on earth to accomplish the feat, the Gate reported. In fact, he paved the way for two youngsters who accompanied him on the hike: his 57-year-old son and 19-year-old granddaughter.
A retired theology professor, Everett trained for months by climbing 17 flights of stairs at his apartment building in Oakland, Calif. He also walked around the city’s Lake Merritt almost every day.
“One of the crazy things both on the trail and the night before was we met tons of people who were looking at me and asking, ‘How old are you?’” Everett told the paper. “I said 93, and they wanted to take my picture.”
The full story about Everett’s birthday adventure can be found at the San Francisco Gate.
Photo by Sidney Kalin featuring Sidney, Everett and Jon Kalin.
After closing his business and enduring several painful years of uncertainty regarding what to do with his life, Greg founded Forward From 50 to help men and women over 50 to live more purposeful lives by pursuing things they are passionate about. A Wisconsin native, Greg currently lives in Arizona.