Geeky Cat Miusings

We did it! My team climbed the 1,776 stairs up the CN Tower to raise over $1,100 for WWF-Canada (that’s World Wildlife Fund, not World Wrestling Federation) and to show how fit we are (we all scored above average climb times).

It was a long wait in line because they had 1,794 people climbing - some 400 more than last year - so the event is becoming more popular each year. The wait itself was entertaining with some teams performing acrobatic acts and chanting their team mantras. It was a hands free climb so we could not bring our iPod’s to entertain and motivate ourselves but they posted children’s drawings on the stairwell walls - so it was much like a vertical gallery tour - and quite touching and thought provoking. One child wrote on her picture “don’t pollute -save our wildlife!”, with a drawing of what looked to me like a dinousaur ;-).

Here we are all geared up for the climb in our Seneca T-shirts:

I didn’t know what I wore would be such an issue - my team member and some other climber commented on my wearing jeans for the climb. I still don’t know what the issue is - they were roomy and was a cool day. I did see one female with some heels on though.

The hardest part for me was the beginning of the climb - since you start climbing right away, without a warm-up - you can feel the strain on your lungs and heart. The second hardest moment of the event was when I reached the top (it took 21 minutes) and I was refreshing myself with a drink of water …. and then I looked down …. ohhhhh my….I was standing on the glass floor…gulp….and I could see the tiny cars way way below me….oh my…. my fear of heights kicked in and I felt light-headed. We were high-fiving other teams so I forgot about my predicament.

At the top of the climb we received a much needed bottle of water and had some time to enjoy the view of Toronto before heading back down (using the elevators - I now realize what a fabulous invention they are) and picking up our WWF T-shirts that read hotter than I should be on the front (I don’t think I will be wearing the T-shirt in public) and our climb time on the back.

Afterwards we were treated to a nice dinner at Joe Badali’s. I was so hungry I could eat a garden shed but at least they had pasta and salads to choose from. I crashed into bed after midnight and then I woke up at 5 a.m. and started to eat my way through the fridge.

So, climbing the CN Tower is a good way to raise money for charity, but if you were hoping to do it to save yourself the entry fee, think again because you might have to compensate with a higher food bill to replenish your energy.