Climbing 1,311 steps, 9-year-old tirelessly raises money for blood cancer research

Piper Buness might not be big on words but she's big on making and setting goals.

The 9-year-old fourth grader participated in the Big Climb in Seattle on March 26 to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and her accomplishment had big results.

Chris Buness, Piper's grandmother, has been participating in the firefighter version of the Big Climb in Seattle's Columbia Building off and on since 2011. Firefighters wear their gear to scale the 69 floors two weeks before the Big Climb, which is open to anyone.

"Piper asked me one day last year when I was training for the Firefighter Stairclimb if she could do the climb and I said yes," her grandmother said. "We trained by using the stair stepper at the fire hall and walking up Mount Dewey."

They also hiked the Sawdust Trail off the Spur Road, Piper said, which helped when they faced the challenge of 1,311 steps of 788 vertical feet in the Columbia Tower.

"I felt energized at first," Piper said. "Then, when I started getting up (higher), my legs started getting tired because I was going way too fast because I was energized. But the (final) three flights, me and my nana ran."

Shawna Buness, Piper's mom, said she wasn't surprised when her daughter told her she wanted to do the climb and raise money for blood cancer research.

"They've both got big hearts," Buness said. "I was very proud of her when she said she wanted to that but wasn't necessarily surprised."

The training came easy, Buness said, since Nana Chris is "extremely hands-on" with her grandchildren. "She's amazing about getting them outside, even if it's not to exercise but just to get them outside and enjoy nature. Everything she does with them gets turned into an educational learning experience. She's just amazing with them."

To date, Nana Chris and Piper have raised $2,200 together. Of that, $1,508 is what Piper has raised, which is more than five times her original goal of $300. "What made me want to do it because I want to help people with blood cancer."

Goal setting isn't foreign to Piper, as her mom points out she's an entrepreneur, having started her own business, Piper's Pickles. She pickles various vegetables and sells them at the monthly community market.

The higher the grandmother-granddaughter duo went on their climb, the more Piper said she noticed a change in the signs posted on each flight of stairs.

"Well, I felt really happy, but a little sad because the higher that we got into the tower, there was more 'In memory of (signs),'" she said. "And I said to my nana, 'There's not enough in honor of.'"

Nana Chris said the event is very emotional, with cancer patients and their families in attendance. "As I reminded Piper as we climbed, the people with cancer have it harder than we do," she said. "We're climbing for them."

Upon finishing, Piper and her grandmother received a medal. Piper said she would probably do it again. "I felt good and exercised. My legs were just tired, and the view was great up there."

Piper doesn't know if she's inspired any of her classmates to set their own challenges, but she did impress her educators after completing the endeavor. Her art teacher Tawney Crowley interviewed her during morning announcements, which is a video feed into all the Evergreen Elementary classrooms.

"Miss Tawney said, 'If you see Piper, give her a high-five or say congratulations,'" she said. When she got back into her class, her fellow students all applauded her.