July 2025 | Vol. 21 Iss. 7
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Holladay
Fireworks season
Where fireworks are and aren’t allowed this year Page 7
Key to the City
Boy battling leukemia recognized for inspirational bravery Page 9
Olympus High grad summits Mount Olympus four times in 18 hours By Collette Hayes | c.hayes@mycityjournals.com Preston VanDam took up a climbing challenge put forth by his uncle.
W
hile most people across the Wasatch Front were fast asleep in their beds at 1 a.m. on May 30, 18-year-old Preston VanDam was making his way to the 9,026foot summit of Mount Olympus for the third time in just eight hours. For Preston VanDam, it was a challenge he had been given by his Uncle Scott, who had reached the summit three times within 24 hours between his junior and senior years in high school. He offered a $1,000 prize for any niece or nephew who could beat his record. Preston VanDam took him seriously and began training about seven months ago to attempt to break the record. According to Preston VanDam, Uncle
Scott and his friends considered making a fourth attempt to reach the summit in the span of those 24 hours. However, they were lured away by a group of girls to a pool party instead. In a recent conversation with the City Journals, Preston VanDam’s dad, Chris VanDam, said, “Once Preston sets his sights on a goal, it’s hard to imagine anything being capable of diverting his focus.” “Anything Preston does, he will do it well and stick with it,” Chris VanDam continued. “He was on the mountain biking Continued page 4 Preston VanDam’s Uncle Scott reached the summit of Mount Olympus in 1989 three times in 24 hours between his junior and senior year in high school. He offered a $1,000 prize for any niece or nephew who could break his record. (Photo courtesy Chris VanDam)
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