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A heart condition grounded Utah airline pilot Michael Hannan, so of course he went looking for the tallest mountains he could climb

The wind chill factor of 50 degrees below zero at the summit of Mount Vinson in Antarctica dictated that the subdued celebration would last only a few minutes, creating such a brief experience that Michael Hannan would wonder, “Was I really there?”

The Cottonwood Heights resident’s stories of worldwide climbs evoke all kinds of other questions: How? Why? And, how old are you, again?

The answers are both simple and complex, stemming from losing his job as an airline pilot due to a heart condition and becoming motivated to keep moving forward. That’s how in January, shortly before turning 75, Hannan became the oldest climber to reach Mount Vinson’s 16,050-foot summit.