Last weekend, I was across the street from the Hull Yacht Club trying to get a decent photo of Flying Santa’s helicopter circling Boston Light, when I looked over my shoulder and saw the strangest sight. I’ve been photographing in Hull for decades – I don’t expect surprises!

**A TIRING WORKOUT.** Hull’s Vincent Brault, who is training for an upcoming mountain-climbing expedition, frequently can be seen around town with his ski poles and tire, which are part of his unique training routine. [Skip Tull photo]

But there was this man with two trekking poles wearing what looked to be a very heavy backpack, harnessed to a very large tire that he was dragging behind him. Slightly bent and leaning forward, he looked like a human draft animal. I immediately snapped a couple of photos and crossed the street to find out what I was witnessing.
In melodically, French-accented English, he told me he was training to climb one of the highest mountains in the world – Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. At 22,831 feet tall, it is the highest mountain in the Americas and the tallest outside Asia.

His name is Vincent Brault, and he and his wife, Ingrid, moved to Hull in 2020. He described their falling in love with our seaside town, its beauty and its people. He also spoke of working for many months, pulling tires behind him up and down the many hills of Hull, even back and forth the full length of Nantasket Beach, when the tides cooperated.
This coming Sunday, he and his son, Martin, a student at UMass-Amherst, will leave for Argentina. Stay tuned for a follow-up once they return!

-- Skip Tull

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