Sixty-Nine Flight Rock

This morning I ascended the second-tallest building on the West Coast -- the hard way!

It was the Big Climb for Leukemia, a sort of vertical fun-run up the stairs of the 76-story, 967-foot Columbia Center. Upon its 1985 completion, it was the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi (likewise, the Smith Tower held the same distinction from its 1914 opening 'til 1931). Columbia Center has since fallen in rank -- it's now the west's fourth-tallest building, and the twelfth- tallest in the US... I didn't train much, only climbing the Volunteer Park Water Tower several times in the last week. Still, it took me just 19 minutes to hike up Columbia Center's 69 flights (1,311 steps, 788 feet of vertical elevation) from its Fifth Avenue lobby to the 73rd floor observation deck. The view was pretty amazing (I love observation decks!), though I too pooped to fully take it in.

As for the event's fundraising aspect, I'm not big on hitting people up for pledges, but if anyone wants to make a donation, it'll be gratefully accepted here.