It requires determination, effort and physical stamina to climb mountains and Michael T. Hannan of Salt Lake City has once again proven that heart problems aren't always a barrier to reaching lofty summits.
He believes too many people with heart problems hold back on their physical effort. He would know. A grounded commercial airline pilot, he's excelled at hiking in recent years, despite requiring a defibrillator for his heart — and has now reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro twice to make his point.
Hannan most recently conquered Kilimanjaro on July 12. He first climbed that peak in February of 2004.
At 19,340 feet above sea level in Tanzania, Kilimanjaro is Africa's tallest summit and thus one of the high points of the seven continents. (In contrast, Utah's highest point, King's Peak, is 13,528 feet above sea level.)
"My climbing partner, Daniel Bennett, and I successfully reached Uhuru Peak on Mount Kilimanjaro at 6:20 a.m. on the (July) 12, Tanzanian time," Hannan reported in an e-mail.
"My goal this time was to see that he reached the summit, but I was, of course, keeping my fingers crossed that I would also make it again. Doing it a second time has distinct advantages. I was better able to focus on certain things I had apparently overlooked or missed the first time.
"And since I had had my original defibrillator replaced this past February, I was able to carry in my hand the defibrillator which had been inside me when I first climbed Kili in February of 2004. . . . As far as I know the second device is still working inside me!!"
To train for this latest hike, Hannan climbed northern California's Mount Shasta the weekend of June 24. He and Ben Knorr went from the Bunny Flat campground and reached that summit at 14,126 feet above sea level at 9:30 a.m., and returned to the campground by 2:20 p.m.
"In retrospect, that effort was a grueling but perfectly suited warm-up for the summit push for Uhuru," he reported.
His advice for others with heart problems is: "Work your way through it, The sky's the limit."
Hannan is now in his early 60s and isn't letting age or physical condition halt outdoor adventures.
He collapsed while running on two different occasions because of heart irregularities despite being thin and having been a runner since 1979, in the year 2000.
After these "head rush" experiences, as he describes them, he went to a cardiologist and eventually got fitted with a defibrillator. The device, the size of a bar of soap, can pace a heartbeat or shock it back to regularity if needed.
The Federal Aviation Administration quickly informed him that he could never be a pilot again, even a co-pilot, with such an implanted device. That loss of a 31-year career of commercial flying was difficult for him.
Hannan had his doctor's blessing for his hiking and stressed that people should always follow medical advice.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com