The 5th annual Lethbridge 9/11 memorial stairclimb went off without a hitch this past September. New this year was public participation and our community did not disappoint with 52 climbers registered to climb (and descend) the 110 stories. We use this distance as it marks the same height that the World Trade Center stood at before their collapse on Sept 11 2001. We do the climb primarily for awareness of all first responders that we've lost over the years; not just those on 9/11 - so that we never forget. Having such a great turn out from the public was very humbling.
We've also began to realize that we are able to run the event and cover all our costs at the same time so this year we've also been able to provide a modest donation to the CFFF. As always, we still had a fair amount of first responders climbing from many departments and agencies including police and EMS and of course firefighters from Nanton, Claresholm, Milk River, Raymond and Coaldale to name a few. Some of these are the toughest of the tough climbing with full turnouts and high rise equipment!
These 9/11 climbs are a very big deal in the USA but as far as we know, we are the only event in Canada that climbs the whole 110 stories for first responders. I would encourage anyone in their community to put one together. The experience is second to none. Our 2016 climb is already set to go on Sept 11 and we look forward to anyone in the area to come and climb with us. We will have a link for registration and information up in the new year.
