by Josh
In advance of this November's Climbing For A Cure at the US Bank Center, the Wisconsin Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation changed its event info to decrease the listed amount of steps for the climb from the building's widely-accepted 1,034 steps to a smaller number: 985. While the number of floors and flights listed remain at 47 and 94, respectively, CFF Wisconsin Development Director Julie Nilsen, who took over organizing the event in 2009, said in an email that she changed the total step count after recently scaling the stairs herself. "When I began (organizing) this event, I was told it was 1,034 steps," she said. "That is wrong. I climbed and counted myself a couple weeks ago. It is 985 steps from the Clybourn level, and 899 from the Galleria level." Thanks to the US Bank Center always having been considered a "1,000-plus" climb, even if just barely, some may argue that a decreased step total downgrades and tarnishes the stature of climbs held at the building, especially in comparison to climbs in other cities with much taller buildings. But is it really less steps? For an event organizer to dispute a stair total shouldn't be a surprise, as the advertised step counts in many buildings where stair climb events take place are often questionable, or outright incorrect. US Bank Center General Manager Gina Jaeckel said Milwaukee's tallest building is no different. "The number of stairs is much debated," she said. "There are several 'counts' out there, but no official total that we publish." According to Megan Cordova, special events director for the American Lung Association in Wisconsin, the ALA has been using the 1,034 figure since the start of its Fight For Air climbs in 2009. "In our first year we had a volunteer count the step total," she said. "I am not sure how the count differs now, but we also start on the Clybourn level." While the total number of stairs may remain in dispute for now, there's less argument over the effort it takes to climb them. When you're in the stairwell, stairs are stairs. Of course, the obvious solution would be for someone to create a stair chart, such as what competitive towerrunner Stan Schwarz has done for a handful of buildings around the country. His charts can be found HERE. Unless someone with access to the US Bank Center stairwell can get in there and create an official chart first, Stair Club Milwaukee gladly offers its services to do so, and settle the debate once and for all. Comments are closed.
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