CHS alum to tackle Mt. Rainier for a cause

Canton native Cassandra Kral-Dillon would rather not brag about her past athletic accomplishments, but history shows that she was quite the star athlete during her high school and college days, serving as a three-sport captain while at Canton High and later becoming a two-time NSCAA All-American as a member of the Smith College women’s soccer team.

Cassandra Kral-Dillon in Zermatt, Switzerland

Now married with a successful career in finance, Kral-Dillon no longer has the time or the opportunity to participate in competitive team sports; however, she has managed to stay active and in shape through local road races and cycling events, as well as her newest passion: mountain climbing.

Since picking up the hobby a few years ago, Kral-Dillon and her friend Jean Hajjar have climbed everything from the White Mountains of New Hampshire to the Breithorn and Riffelhorn in the Swiss Alps. And beginning on Monday, July 8, the two climbing partners will tackle their biggest challenge yet: a four-day, technically demanding climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier — a 14,410-foot glaciated volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range and one of the highest peaks in the continental United States.

For Kral-Dillon, the thrill of the climb is truly its own reward; yet this time the adventure will take on an even greater significance as she hikes, crampons, and rappels her way to the summit in support of melanoma research and care at Mass General Hospital in honor of her uncle, the late Mike Cronin.

Cronin, according to his niece, was a “husband, father, CEO, board member, and humanitarian,” as well as a globe-trotting adventurer who always returned home with the “most amazing stories and pictures.”

“He was very fortunate,” Kral-Dillon said of her Uncle Mike. “He was diagnosed about three or four years before [he passed away], but he was able to cram a lot of living in his 72 years.”

Kral-Dillon recalled how Cronin was “always interested in the latest cancer research” and remained hopeful that the “next clinical trial” might be the one to produce a cure.

As she wrote on her fundraiser website, “Unfortunately there wasn’t a cure for him, but I am hopeful someday we will have a cure for everyone. Until that day arrives I want to help fund Mass General’s trials for others who rely on them for a cure or even a few more years of life.”

Kral-Dillon has dubbed her Mt. Rainier excursion the “Cronin Climb for Cancer,” and she figured it would be the perfect tribute to a man who lived for such adventures during his own lifetime.

Kral-Dillon and Jean Hajjar on the half traverse of the Breithorn in the Swiss Alps

“When my uncle passed away last year of cancer, it just struck me that I wanted to do more,” she explained. “Obviously I’m not in the medical profession, and there’s not much I can do directly in the area of cancer research, so I thought this is one way that I could help.”

Kral-Dillon created a “Cronin Climb for Cancer” donation page at give.massgeneral.org, and over the past several weeks she has reached out to family, friends and coworkers in hopes of raising as much money as possible in advance of the climb. She does not have a specific fundraising goal and is quick to point out that “every little bit counts.”

The climb itself promises to be quite challenging, and the specific route they are taking requires prior climbing experience and a familiarity with basic mountaineering skills, not to mention superior physical fitness.

Kral-Dillon and Hajjar will be completing the four-day Kautz summit climb offered by International Mountain Guides. They will be hiking to the base of Mt. Rainier and camping out on a glacier before making their way toward the summit — all while carrying 50-pound backpacks.

The two friends have undergone an intensive six-month training program in preparation for the climb, consisting of daily cardiovascular workouts as well as several simulated “long climbs” with a heavy backpack.

Kral-Dillon said Mt. Rainier will be far more challenging than the mountains they climbed during their week-long trip to the Alps, which typically involved 10-12 hours of climbing with a light pack — although the Alps trip was still a “phenomenal” experience, she said.

“It’s a whole other realm,” she said of mountain climbing. “I love getting out and seeing parts of the United States and the world from a view that not everybody gets to see — from the top of a mountain. The first time I experienced it I was hooked.”

When she’s not climbing or training for a climb, Kral-Dillon is either working at her “desk job” — she’s a controller for a digital couponing company — or spending time with her husband, Stephen, who has been “extremely supportive” of her recent adventures.

The couple now resides in Canton, which is Kral-Dillon’s childhood home and the town where her father, Fred Kral, served as the longtime assistant principal of the Galvin Middle School.

Kral-Dillon and Hajjar on the summit of the Riffelhorn, with the Matterhorn in the background.

Her uncle Mike and his family lived in nearby Medfield, and Kral-Dillon fondly remembers visiting the Cronins for holidays and other family get-togethers, where Mike was always the life of the party.

“He was such an all-around good guy,” she said of her uncle. “He was very social and very much enjoyed meeting people. You always knew when he was in the room or at a function.”

Kral-Dillon especially loved hearing about her uncle’s “amazing” adventures, and he in turn showed similar interest in hers.

As she noted on her website, “[Mike] was quite the storyteller. He once told me that he thought I had surpassed him in ‘adventures’ with the few mountains I had climbed, but I knew it wasn’t true. My climbs do not compare to his lifetime of adventures, but I appreciated his kind words.”

To learn more about the Cronin Climb for Cancer, or to make a donation, go to www.give.massgeneral.org. Donations can also be made via check — payable to “Massachusetts General Hospital” with “Cronin Climb for Cancer” on the memo line — and sent to Mass General Development Office, Community Fundraising Program, 165 Cambridge St., Suite 600, Boston, MA 02114.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jun 27 2012. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.