99-Year-Old Man Climbs CN Tower for Charity

Over the weekend, a 99-year-old Ontario man climbed the 1,776 steps to reach the top of the 553-metre-tall CN Tower in Toronto. This is the third that Walter Decker has made the climb.

Decker, who turned 99 last week, took part in the United Way ClimbUP on Saturday. He raised over $3,000 for people struggling to meet basic life needs. Decker climbed the CN Tower with his son, grandson and two great grandsons.

Decker first climbed the CN Tower over a decade ago. “It took my mind off the grieving process,” he said in an interview. “A lot of people grieve in different ways and they cope with it in different ways.” He now climbs the steps up the Hamilton Escarpment a few times a week. Along with his cardio fitness, he does up to 50 pushups each morning. “Don’t put off anything until tomorrow that you should be doing today,” Decker says.

While thousands of people climb the steps up CN Tower every year, in 1980, two Toronto climbers decided to aid up the exterior. Read about it and other building ascents here.