A local man put his physical struggles aside and pushed himself to scale all 802 steps of the Calgary Tower to raise money to help the Calgary Zoo recover from the floods.
Chris Koch was born without limbs and on Tuesday, he lived up to his word and ascended the metal staircase to the top of the tower.
Koch was surrounded by family and friends who cheered him on before, during and after the climb.
It takes an average person 15 minutes to climb the steps and Koch was determined to do it in under 30 minutes.
CTV Calgary Photojournalist, Kevin Fleming, followed him up all 50 flights and the pair paused only four times to catch their breaths.
Koch took on the challenge to raise the bar and push his own boundaries and also to raise money for the Calgary Zoo.
“I'll do my part I’ll climb the stairs and ideally I do it under 30 minutes and prove to everybody that I wasn't just talking and hopefully that encourages everybody to contribute to the zoo,” said Koch.
Last week, he took a tour to see the damages sustained by the zoo from the flood and he was inspired to help out.
Koch says he’s done a lot of things but his trip up the tower steps ranks among his greatest challenges.
“I was hoping for 30 and I did it in 24 so I am so happy right now,” said Koch.” If I can, anybody can do this stuff so I challenge everyone to get out there and live life and have fun and set the bar high and donate to the Calgary Zoo.”
Koch has set up a donation page and will be accepting contributions until September 1, 2013.
Visit the Top of the Tower for the Calgary Zoo website to make a donation.
(With files from Kathy Le)
