Dawson College physical education teacher Mark Abbott doesn’t remember how long he’s been scaling buildings, but he does remember the first time he was asked to climb to the top of the school’s Mother House a little over 10 years ago.
The college needed someone to show an architect-engineer around to check on the state of the heritage building.
“I guided him around, we took pictures of the building,” he recalled.
“I’ve been teaching climbing for a long time, so I know what I’m doing.”
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A little while later, he got another call from the college.
“They said, ‘Oh, the lights are out on top of Dawson, could you go up and change them?'” he told Global News.
“So, I said, ‘OK,’ and that’s what I did every time the lights went out.”
He’s been doing it ever since — with a little help from a couple across the street.
“And then they would call me, and I would go up.”
Now, much to the dismay of his students, the certified rock climbing guide is getting ready to retire — in 15 days.
“But I’ll be open to it.”
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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