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SALT LAKE CITY -- Nearly 60 people rappelled down the Grand America Hotel Wednesday to support Special Olympics Utah. The ‘Over the Edge' fundraiser is one of biggest of the year for the organization that offers year-round sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
"This brings in much-needed funding for our athletes as they compete in our state competitions, world competitions and as they participate in our events throughout the year," said Lyn Rees with Special Olympics Utah.
The Over the Edge fundraiser gets a lot of support from local business leaders, members of the media and local police.
"We go out there and reach for the real uncommon things, and this is one of those," said Rees. "A lot of our supporters are saying, ‘Whatever Special Olympics is doing, I'm on it.'"
Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank was among those who went over the edge. Utah's Attorney General Mark Shurtleff rappelled for the second year in a row and brought in several thousand dollars for the fundraiser.
"It's unique to Utah, so we're hoping it will really generate some excitement and grow year after year," Rees said.
Jed Boal joined them for the exciting rappel off the roof. Here's his firsthand account:
It's a long way up to the roof of the Grand America Hotel. Unless, of course, you're on the roof -- then it's a long way down.
The view is incredible from 25 floors and 200 feet up, but it's not easy to soak it all in. A touch of fear had me focused on the equipment.
The fundraiser was hosted by Law Enforcement Torch run, so Salt Lake City police officers, firefighters and FBI agents made everything safe and didn't leave me hanging.
After thorough safety instructions, it was time to go over the edge.
I started out timidly, but it was a real thrill to be out on that wall, a long way up from the sidewalk.
Admittedly, I never really looked much like Spider-Man, but I'll never look at the Grand America the same way.
If you want to go over the edge, you need to raise a minimum contribution of $1,000 for the cause. For more details, CLICK HERE.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
