Wrangell firefighters will join the 33rd annual stairclimb competition in Seattle next month to raise money for the fight against leukemia and lymphoma.
Clay Hammer, Dustin Johnson and Steve Prysunka are taking part in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Firefighter Stairclimb on Sunday, March 10. It’s the world’s largest such event where the climbers breathe through their airpacks.
The contest will be held at Seattle’s tallest building, the Columbia Center.
All 2,000 participants are career, volunteer or retired firefighters from all over the world, who must make their way to the top in full turnout gear using only the building’s 69 flights of stairs, which total 1,356 steps reaching 788 feet straight up.
The competition raises funds for blood cancer research and patient services, collecting more than $25 million since its start.
“It’s a combination of a really good cause and great bragging rights,” Hammer said. “It’s an amazing thing to be a part of, and a great motivator to get some good exercise as well as helping to raise funds.”
Hammer explained that participating in full gear means wearing boots, turnout pants and coat, an airpack assembly, helmet and visor. Participants generate a lot of heat wearing full gear in this kind of competition. “The gear weighs 35 to 40 pounds altogether,” he said. “It’s a long way to the top.”
This will be his second time competing in the Stairclimb, and Johnson and Prysunka have also done it before. The last time they competed was in 2018 with six of their fellow firefighters, including Scott McAuliffe, Adam Sprehe, Walter Moorhead, Chris Hatton, Dorianne Sprehe and Jordan Buness.
“My big goal this year is to not embarrass my team,” Hammer said. “Last time, I believe it took me 21 minutes. If I can do it (this time) in 25 minutes, I figure that’ll be a pretty good accomplishment.”
“At the end of the year, I’ll be 60, and it’s my way to celebrate my 30th year with the fire department.”
He said that the type of training that goes into getting ready for this type of race is mostly conditioning. “Some of the guys like to do some swimming, running, doing whatever you can to increase your cardio.”
Hammer has been regularly practicing on the stairclimber at the fire station in full gear. Other times, he uses the stairclimber at Parks and Recreation’s community center, bringing his gear from home.
As to why he and his fellow firefighters do this, he said, “Foremost, we’ve all lost somebody to cancer in the past and that’s what the proceeds go for. As far as a noble cause, you can’t ask for better.”
Hammer added that another incentive is the view from the top of the Columbia Center, being able to look down on the Space Needle, the Seattle Great Wheel and every big skyscraper in town.
“When you get there, you spend the first five minutes just catching your breath,” he said. “Try to get feeling back into your legs and then you move to the windows to check out the view. You get 10 minutes or so to enjoy that. Then you catch the elevator down to let somebody else get their shot at it.”
The Wrangell team has chosen Dr. Lynn Prysunka, a leukemia survivor, to be their designated honoree at this year’s Stairclimb. Hammer said that Steve and Lynn Prysunka’s son Sam and his wife Emily will be there to assist and change airpacks for the team.
People can donate with their local firefighters or online by visiting the website at llswa.org. The Wrangell team page can be found through the “Donate” menu, and donors can pick either the team or individual climbers for their contributions.
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