Never one to turn down a challenge, North Toronto resident Rocco Rossi is gearing up to scale the heights of the world's tallest mountain without venturing outside city limits.

Rossi, CEO for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, will complete the feat by climbing the city's seven tallest office towers several times over the span of three days until he has climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest.

Over the course of a long weekend in February, he will climb nearly 60,000 steps, the equivalent of 29,028 feet. The "7 Summits" challenge will help him raise funds for the foundation's Automated External Defibrillator program.

"Mountain climbers talk about the 'Grand Slam', which is climbing the highest peaks on the seven continents," he said. "I'm taking on the seven tallest office buildings in Toronto, which is my own grand slam of sorts."

Rossi has embarked on physically grueling challenges for the Heart and Stroke Foundation before. Over the past couple of years, he has kayaked 490 kilometres from Toronto to Ottawa and cycled 1,900 kilometres from Rainy River, Ont. to Toronto. This year, he decided to stay a little closer to home while still pushing himself to the limits of his endurance.

"The past couple of years, I've used up three weeks of vacation time for each of my challenges," he said. "This year, my son put only one constraint on me; he's away for university, so he told me to keep it under a week so we can have more time together."

Rossi added that this journey will offer up less scenery than his previous challenges, but relished the idea of testing himself in a controlled environment, with no fear of inclement weather putting him behind schedule.

"Besides, this time there won't be logging trucks running me off the road," he said.

Rossi will scale each of the seven summits five times, repeating two of those a sixth time to reach his intended goal. In so doing, he will out-climb most of those who have scaled the lofty Mount Everest.

"Most people only climb 17,000 feet, from base camp to the peak, while I'm climbing the equivalent of sea level to the peak," he said. "On the other hand, I don't have to worry about the high elevation and a lack of oxygen."

On the last day of his journey, he will invite 100 others to raise funds of their own and climb each tower once. Participants will have to raise or donate a minimum of $2,500 to join, and each corporate team must have at least one senior executive take part.

Though the event will not take place until February, Rossi has started both raising funds and training. He has been working on a Stairmaster (TM), using leg weights and improving his flexibility through yoga.

"I'm also working to keep my weight down, because every pound I don't have is another pound I don't have to carry for 50 or 60,000 steps," he said.

His overall aim is to raise $1 million for the defibrillator program, a reachable goal given that Transamerica Life has pledged to match the first $250,000 raised.

Rossi said that the Everest Challenge will likely become an annual event, with the aim of bringing it across Canada and turning it into the foundation's signature fundraiser. In addition to raising money for the foundation, the event also serves as an advocacy tool, encouraging people to lead healthier lives.

"It would be nice to get people to incorporate stair climbing in their lives," he said. "If people just took the stairs a few times a week instead of the elevator, it would contribute to good health."

The 7 Summits/Everest Challenge will take place from Friday, Feb. 22 through Sunday, Feb. 24. To donate, or for more information, visit www.heartandstroke.ca/rocco.

 

Toronto's "Seven Summits"

First Canadian Place, 978 feet

Scotia Plaza, 902 feet

TD Trust Tower, 856 feet

Commerce Court West, 784 feet

TD Bank Tower, 731 feet

Bay Wellington Tower, 679 feet

Royal Bank Plaza, 590 feet