Community Corner

Wayne Endodontist Takes on Aconcagua

Bruce Terry recently conquered the highest peak outside of the Himalayas.

Boys in Gladwyne Cub Scout Pack 110 are no strangers to the outdoors, and they have pack Hikemaster Bruce Terry to thank.

Terry is an endodontist in Wayne.

“He’s responsible for organizing and leading monthly hikes of 30 to 40 people 12 months a year,” said Pack 110 Cubmaster Patrick Brala. “If it’s raining or snowing, they still do it because they are prepared. It’s unheard of—there’s no one who does anything like it.”

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About 90 boys participate in Gladwyne-based Pack 110—the largest in the Cradle of Liberty Council (which includes Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware counties)—because of adults like Terry who provide support, Brala said.

And Terry doesn’t just hike with the scouts. Terry’s wife, Susan Scanlon, says he has hiked all over. 

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“I read an article about Mt. Rainier, and I thought, ‘that sounds miserable—I bet Bruce would like that,’ ” said Scanlon, adding she prefers a nice hotel.

So he climbed Mt. Rainier in Washington. He hiked Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mt. Elbrus in Russia and Mont Blanc in France, all of which was in preparation for his most recent hike of Mt. Aconcagua in western Argentina.

Training prior to his departure for 23,000-foot Mt. Aconcagua involved going to Valley Forge National Park, doing two hours a day of aerobics and mini triathlons and going to the gym with a 50-lb. backpack on the Stairmaster.

Terry, an Eagle Scout, grew up in Los Angeles and was in a troop that did a lot of hiking, Scanlon said. He learned his camping skills and survival skills from the scouts, she added. 

“Part of what makes it interesting to him, is he works on this tiny little thing all day,” Scanlon said, “and then he goes out and hikes this huge mountain.”

While Terry was gone, scouts and their parents were able to track him via Spot Messenger, as he provided quick text updates on his progress. He reached the summit Feb. 11, Scanlon wrote in an email.

"We had a light snow and light wind on summit day," Terry wrote in an email to friends Feb. 15. "All in all it was a terrific climb with 6 new friends. After a 16 hr summit we return tired to our tents... Anyway, for me I love to be out in the mountains and push myself."

Terry also described a climber experiencing angina pain that he and his team ran into.

"We called for a helicopter rescue and carried him to a spot for the helicopter to pick him up," Terry wrote. "We learned that he was OK. The guide and our team were written up in the Argentina newspaper for the rescue."

Local hikes

Locally, Pack 110 scouts and their families hike the Bridlewild trails, Saunders Woods, wooded trails at Valley Forge National Park, Ridley Creek Park and in Radnor Township, among other places, Scanlon said.

Boys were also able to do a narrow hike at Ricketts Glen State Park, Brala said. There is a hiking award for which boys get an emblem after their first hike, then rocker patches to go around the initial patch after a certain number of miles. They also get a walking stick after they’ve logged 50 miles.

Terry and Scanlon’s son, Henry, a 10-year-old Webelos in the pack, knows he needs to start small and work his way up, Scanlon said. 

“It’s kind of scary, having my dad climbing those mountains, but I know he’s safe,” Henry said. 

Henry and Brala’s son, Connor, said they like being with nature. Connor’s favorite hiking trip was backpacking for three days in the Grand Canyon, and Henry’s favorite trip so far has been hiking in Switzerland, they said. Hiking with the scouts is different, just because there are a lot more kids. 

Scouts this year started a program called Scout Strong, similar to the NFL’s Play 60, Brala said. It promotes outdoor skills and character development.

“They know what to do and what not to do,” Brala said. “It fits in with the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared for life.”


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