For young climbers looking for competition in next month’s Coquitlam Crunch “Stair Master” Challenge, they should keep their eyes on Shaun Stephens-Whale.
The elite tower climber — a BC Wildfire Service employee from Roberts Creek — is hoping to capture the title for the 16- to 35-age division, in the Sept. 8 contest.
Stephens-Whale is best known for his vertical running of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France, last year; then 27, he finished sixth in the Verticale de la Tour Eiffel, after completing the circuit in 8:30 minutes, with 1,665 steps on its 81 storeys.
Stephens-Whale has set course records at RaInier Tower in Seattle and at the Las Vegas Stratosphere, and has climbed the Empire State Building and the Etihad Tower, in U.A.E. He is the current record-holder for the CN Tower Climb, in Toronto.
Created three years ago by organizers of the Coquitlam Crunch Diversity Challenge, the Stair Master sees the fittest athletes — divided into four age categories — race to the top of the 437 wooden stairs; it the first morning event of the fundraiser.
• To sign up for the 9th annual Coquitlam Crunch Challenge for Diversity by the Sept. 5 deadline, visit coquitlamcrunch.com. The races are: Stair Master (8 a.m.); Make It Or Break It (9 a.m.); and Recreational (10 a.m.). Kits can be picked up from The Running Room (202-2748 Lougheed Hwy., Port Coquitlam) between 7 and 9 p.m. on Sept. 6 or Sept. 7. The Challenge is sponsored in part by The Tri-City News.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
