Spokane man’s 343 stair-climbs honor firefighters lost on 9/11

Spokane Fire Department Capt. Roger Libby was on a mission Monday. He would complete his 343rd stair-climb, in honor of the 343 New York firefighters who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center’s twin towers.

During each stair-climb Libby goes up at least 110 flights of stairs, the same number of flights in the twin towers. He usually does more, however, and has averaged 147 flights of stairs per climb.

“I’m over a million vertical steps, 123 miles in elevation,” he said.

Libby began climbing stairs to prepare for a stair-climb held in Spokane to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. He continued climbing after the event as a way to stay in shape.

The Bank of America allows firefighters free access to their office building in downtown Spokane to train for stair-climbing events. As Libby climbed, he thought. “It just haunted me, what happened that day,” he said.

Libby decided to do a stair-climb for each New York firefighter who had died in the attack. “I’ve been climbing for them ever since,” he said.

Two years, seven months and four days after that decision, Libby prepared for his final climb. Though a crowd of supporters gathered outside the Bank of America building Monday, Libby would do the last climb alone, just as he had done all the others.

New York City Fire Department Lt. Arty Riccio, who lost several members of his crew on Sept. 11, was on hand to watch Libby’s final climb.

Before he began, Libby said, he was filled with mixed emotions. “I’m excited to do it,” he said. “It’s also going to be somewhat bittersweet.

“It’s been a very, very important journey for me.”