Tom Harrison
Tom Harrison is undertaking a Herculean effort to raise money for the Trojan Horse Project. As part of the Trojan Horse-athon, he will be seeking pledges and sponsors to support his doing the Grouse Grind daily for a month. The Grind is a grueling 1.8 mile (almost 3 km) trail up the face of Grouse Mountain, near Vancouver, BC. The gain in elevation is literally breathtaking: 2,800 feet (850 meters). Tom is eager to begin his regimen, but the trail is still snowbound. He vows to do the trek on snow shoes if it doesn’t clear soon.
Originally from London, Tom now lives in Vancouver where he is an IT consultant. His first Burn was 2010, and he says, “It was one of the best weeks of my life, and I’m so looking forward to this year. I’m good at moving heavy objects long distances and fascinated by classic civilizations, so the Trojan Horse is pretty much the perfect project for me.”
Tom’s epic effort started when he bet a friend he could do the Grind for 30 straight days, a feat the friend thought impossible. To help him succeed in his self-imposed challenge, Tom has created an alter-ego: Thales Heliodoros.
Thales, son of the sun god, Helios, was famed for his stubbornness, refusing several times to board Charon’s ferry. His attempts to cheat death enraged Hades, god of the underworld. As punishment, Hades cursed Thales to climb all the world’s mountains for eternity.
When asked if he was daunted by the prospect of spending a month of his life giving new meaning to “the daily grind,” Thales replied, “I’ve been climbing mountains non-stop for 3,000 years and can do this Grouse thing before breakfast.” If you want to support Thales and the Trojan Horse Project, make a donation at www.trojanhorse2011.com/donations and please send him an e-mail: thales.heliodoros (at) live.co.uk or visit his Facebook page.