1,356 steps: Firefighters climb for a cause

There’s nothing fun about running as fast as you can up 69 flights of stairs in 60 pounds of firefighting gear while wearing a breathing apparatus.

“It’s terrible,” Whitefish firefighter Sarah Peterson said of participating in the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb. “It’s 30 minutes of misery.”

Yet, the annual event draws emergency workers from around the globe who challenge themselves to climb the 1,356 steps in the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle. Participants raise money to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Last weekend, Peterson joined Whitefish firefighters Cole Hadley, Sal Baccaro and Joe Rendahl in taking on the challenge. The combined Whitefish/Kalispell team finished third overall. Taylor Zachary of Kalispell finished 13th overall out of 1,800 competitors with a time of 13 minutes, 10 seconds to lead the team.

It’s not easy to train for such an event in Whitefish. One of the tallest buildings in the city is the Emergency Services Center, which served as a training ground for the team. But the small stairwell up a watchtower just doesn’t equate to the real deal.

“There’s just nothing around here where you can simulate sustained climbing up 69 flights of stairs,” said Rendahl. “I’ve done a lot of laps on those stairs.”

Rendahl also skinned up Big Mountain on his skis for a workout, or would hit the stairclimber wearing full gear.

Part of the motivation to take on the stairclimb is personal challenge, Hadley said. The fastest climber last year, Andrew Drobeck of Missoula, finished in under 11 minutes, while some take more than an hour.

“I’m intrigued by the idea and want to see if I can do it,” Hadley said.

“We’re all type A personalities with a competitive drive,” added Peterson, a tri-athlete who has competed in the stairclimb for a few years.

But there’s also the benefit for cancer research, which can serve as deep motivation when the going gets tough halfway up the skyscraper. Walls of the stairwell are lined with photos of cancer survivors, and lymphoma and leukemia patients of all ages are invited to attend the event.

“It’s emotional,” Peterson said. “At first, I just wanted to compete and stay in shape, but the more I got into it, the closer the cause got to me. Being there is humbling.”

Rendahl was drawn to the competition after witnessing a family friend’s battle with leukemia. The young girl was receiving treatment at Sacred Heart Children’s Clinic in Spokane and living with her family at a Ronald McDonald House.

“We stopped to visit last summer and that had a big impact on me — knowing someone and seeing how much that can affect a family,” he said.

“I never truly considered doing [the stairclimb] until then.”

Hadley is in the lead for fundraising on the Whitefish team. He says participating in an event like this is simply in the DNA of a firefighter.

“Helping people is the nature of the job we do every day,” he said. “We want to help people beyond our normal work week, too.”

He’s impressed that 100 percent of the funds raised goes directly to the cause — the Whitefish team paid for the trip to Seattle on their own dime.

Each participant must raise $300 in pledges. So far the Whitefish team is at about $8,000, toward their goal of $12,000.

The Whitefish/Kalispell team has held community tap nights at Tamarack Brewing Co. and Great Northern Brewing Co., as well as a charity night at Wasabi Sushi Bar in Whitefish.

Visit online at firefighterstairclimb.org to donate. Click on “donate” and search for the firefighter or team you want to make a pledge toward.

Donations can be made until March 31.