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Staff photographer recounts rappelling from 9 story building

Mark Nance, of the Sun-gazette, works his way down the William Hepburn Apartment building, Saturday.

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, so said Neil Armstrong upon setting foot on the moon for the first time. Backing off the top of the nine story William Hepburn Apartments building might not be considered such a monumental task as setting foot on the moon, but it doesn’t make it any easier.

Granted, I have rappelled before and liked it so much I did it again. But there were two big differences this time: When I rappelled before, it was from the three-story student center at Lipscomb University, in Nashville, Tennesee. This time, its from the William Hepburn Apartments at a whopping nine stories. Second, I was in college the first time, and I was not nearly as cautious as I might be now. That was 30 plus years ago, and now I am a little heavier and maybe a little smarter.

To begin the repelling adventure, I, and the other four in my group, arrived at 9 a.m. Saturday to sign paperwork, train and then rappel an hour later. During that time I felt much like an astronaut as we put on the harnesses with the trainers tugging at straps, attaching carabiners, strapping on a helmet, and checking everything again. Once “suited up” we were trained by Phoebe Unetic, OTE training manager, on how to rappel from one of their giant tripods, which would be on the roof. Finally, we boarded the elevator to the roof, once again with that astronaut kind of feeling in the gantry elevator going up to board a rocket.

Waiting at the open door to the roof might have been the hardest part, but, looking out the door and seeing the Williamsport skyline and rain with fog over Bald Eagle Mountain made me quickly forget the height. The OTE trainers and volunteers from the U.S. Army Williamsport Recruiting Office were all professional and did a great job of making us feel at ease and forgetting that there was over a hundred feet of space between us and the ground.

Safety lanyards were attached to each “Edger” as we approached the tripod from which our ropes were suspended over the edge. Volunteers then hooked me up to two lines. One was the rappelling line, the other was a brake line, which, should I descend too quickly, would brake automatically. To descend, I just pulled back on a lever on the repelling line and down I went, occasionally bouncing off the wall with my feet.

Going over the edge is something I would have gladly done, but doing it with people who were raising money for three great organizations was indeed a pleasure. It may not have been as monumental as walking on the moon, but definitely an unforgettable experience, even if if means repelling in the rain, and setting my camera aside for a moment to experience and enjoy the fun.

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