Grandfather-grandson travel to top of tallest structure together
HYNDMAN ― This grandfather and grandson combine for a unique partnership when it comes to traveling buddies.
During this summer, Jeffrey Hosselrode, 30, and Stanley Pensyl, 80, participated in EdgeWalk together.
"They love to travel together," said Jeff Hosselrode's mother, Thea Hosselrode. "Jeff is kind enough to invite his Pop (everyone calls my dad Pop) to travel with him, and Pop is brave enough and trusts Jeff enough to say yes!"
Both Jeff and Stanley are from Kennels Mill Road, Hyndman. The duo accomplished the EdgeWalk at CN Towers in Toronto, Canada, the world’s highest full-circle hands-free walk and the first of its kind in North America. It involves walking 116 stories above Toronto with nothing but a harness as the secure line.
"I have been working in Canada recently as international marketing support for Chick-fil-A. In March, I helped to open the eighth Chick-fil-A store in Canada and help grow the brand awareness in this new market," said Jeffrey in an email. "Naturally, I am an adventure seeker and I love to travel and find the coolest places in the world. When I saw the huge CN Tower, which is the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere, I knew I wanted to go to the top. So when I saw that you could travel to the top of the CN Tower and get strapped into a harness and have an unobstructed view, I wanted to do it so bad!"
Jeffrey said EdgeWalk of the CN Tower is 1,168 feet above the city.
"The EdgeWalk is the highest external walk in the entire world. It is above all the skyscrapers in Canada and allows you to walk on a 5-foot-wide grate around the entire circumference of the building and experience breathtaking views for hundreds of miles in all directions," he said. "Previously, I went to Dubai for the World's Fair and went to the top of the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest building in the world. However, you couldn't look down or lean out because there was protective glass everywhere."
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He decided to take the trip with his grandfather.
"My grandfather applied for his passport at 80 years old and wanted to go somewhere international," Jeffery said. "His favorite team is the Toronto Blue Jays, so we planned a trip to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays Stadium is located at the base of the CN Tower and from the EdgeWalk we could see down into the stadium and see tiny people warming up for the baseball game."
His grandfather also thought the experience was a good one.
"The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, was a challenge for Jeffrey and myself," Stanley said in an email. "To walk the circumference of the highest hands-free external walk in the world (356 meters – 1,168 feet) above ground and the 'Tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere,' would be a fun thing for us to accomplish. We had a great view of Lake Ontario and the city of Toronto."
They received a certified verification certificate for this adventure.
"It is just a piece of paper which says that we completed the highest hands-free external walk in the world – it's just a cool souvenir," Jeff said.
It all started back when
Jeffrey Hosselrode graduated from Meyersdale Area High School, the son of Thea and Marvin Hosselrode, owners of Hosselrode Maple Products. He has a marketing degree from Frostburg State University and was hired on the international marketing team for Chick-fil-A. He got started helping at new store grand openings in America.
Jeffrey said then he saw they were looking for employees with passports as they expanded into Canada and Puerto Rico, and jumped at the chance.
"I have been to 16 countries so far, and next year I plan on going to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France," he said.
He said taking his grandfather on this trip was going to be special.
"My grandmother and grandfather used to babysit me as a kid and would take me to North Carolina, Florida and Illinois to visit family, which started my love of travel," Jeffrey said. "Now that I am older, I want to return the favor and take them to see all the amazing places in the world. My grandfather has always sacrificed so much for me, so I wanted to take him to Toronto to show him all of the amazing things I saw in Canada while I was working there."
Stanley said he has always liked to accompany his family and grandchildren with adventure outings.
"We have gone hunting, fishing, local site-seeing tours, picnic, maple prep, Escape rooms, Las Vegas, Kentucky tours, Utah, Washington, D.C., tours, Canada – under the Niagara Falls – Toronto-Blue Jays baseball game, theme park, and etc.," he said.
Jeffery said besides going to Vietnam for the Vietnam War, this was his grandfather's first time out of the country as a civilian.
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"Yes this was the first time outside the USA since 1968," Stanley said.
Thea said the family took Stanley to Fort Knox, Kentucky, this summer to tour the barracks because he was stationed there in the late 1960s.
"He and my mom had lived there. That was special for our family to tour that with him," she said in an email.
Booking a trip
Jeffrey said when he is booking a trip, he looks for record-setting things to do.
"If it says 'tallest,' 'fastest,' 'top 10 best' or 'record-breaking,' I am there!" he said. "Not a lot of things scare me anymore. I've wrestled alligators, traveled halfway across the world by myself, and been to the tallest places on Earth, so it takes a lot to get my adrenaline going or get me intimidated."
Jeffrey said he likes traveling to all these different countries to "experience new cultures, meet new people, see amazing sights, and find extraordinary adventures to go on.
"I went to Dubai for the World's Fair and the whole city is record-breaking – it has the tallest building in the world, the fastest rollercoaster in the world, the world's largest fountain, the world's deepest pool, and over 200 more world records. At the Burj Khalifa, I simply went to the observation deck and they have the highest outdoor terrace in the world. However, there is safety glass panels all around the outside so you can't really look down or even poke your head out to look down."
His mother said most trips start with Jeffrey telling whoever is going along with him, the dates to mark on the calendar and the temperature degree range for which to pack.
"It's interesting how the travel happens. They show up at the airport and Pop looks at the outgoing flights to guess where they are traveling to," she said. "It's fun and exciting to pack for a trip in which you don't know where you are going. Dad and I packed this year for a spring break trip in which we guessed we were going out west. We looked at the outgoing flights on the board and were very wrong. We were actually going to Florida!"
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Pretty scary
Jeffrey said EdgeWalk was the first time he'd been strapped outside a building.
"Doing the Edgewalk was definitely the scariest thing I've ever done in my life. For 30 whole minutes, you are dangling on the edge of the building and the wind from Lake Ontario is blowing and swaying the building," he said.
"Using your safety rope and harness, you could lean out over the edge of the grates to just be floating above the entire city. The nervousness was worth it because the view was one of the prettiest views I've ever seen – you could see for hundreds of miles in all directions. It was very cool to walk the exterior of the building with my grandfather – even though we were both terrified."
He said anyone could do these walks. There are no special requirements and they are open to the public for a fee.
"You take a glass-floored elevator to a special room above the observation floor of the tower, and are then strapped into a special harness guide rail which you are tethered to and follow the track around the outside of the building," he said. "The safety harness is attached to the guider ails by two safety lines – each of which can hold the weight of several tons."
Thea said she's happy the two could do this together.
"They both turn a zero number this year, so I'm glad they got to walk the CN Tower together to celebrate that milestone," she said. "I was so proud of both of them for doing that."
For those who would like to follow Jeffrey's adventures, follow @alwaysbeadventurous on Instagram or Always Be Adventuring on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Grandson-grandfather accomplish Toronto hands-free walk together
