Things don't come easily for Chris Koch, but the prospect of a challenge just puts a smile on his face.
Born without legs or arms, Koch has been dealing with challenges his entire life. Lately, he has found ways to push his own limits while supporting charities. He is now preparing for one of the biggest physical challenges of his adult life.
Originally from Nanton, Alta., which is just south of Calgary, this summer Koch decided to climb the stairs in the 191-metre Calgary Tower following flooding that decimated parts of the city. He completed that climb of 802 steps, collecting pledges in support of the Calgary Zoo's recovery efforts.
Koch is now setting his sights higher. The CN Tower rises 553 metres from the street. He will climb the 1,776 steps to the tower's observation deck 356 metres above the ground, all as part of United Way Toronto's annual Tower Climb on Oct. 20. It's one of only two times each year that the stairs in the tower are accessible to climb.
Koch has been coming to southeast Saskatchewan for the last couple of years to run a combine. While working through harvest, Koch has spent his early mornings climbing the steps at the granary on the farm he has been working at west of Outram. That's 142 steps that he climbs up and down six times each morning; about 850 steps each day.
What he is most concerned about is the heat in the stairwell. He is climbing in the cool open air each morning.
"The Calgary Tower was really hot. I don't know what the temperature is going to be like inside (the CN Tower). Obviously, it's twice as many stairs. I've been climbing more stairs this time around," said Koch.
He said he isn't trying to go too fast as he climbs the granary each morning.
"As you can see, it's not the safest set of steps."
He was planning on scaling the steps 13 times at least once this week. That would top 1,800 steps in one effort.
Koch is also a motivational speaker, and his motto has always been "If I can " He works that career around his farming one.
"People don't expect a guy without arms or legs to be driving tractors or combines. I like to encourage people to go out and live life," said Koch. "If I can snowboard or go backpacking through Brazil for a month, if I can climb the CN Tower to raise money, anybody can do it. I encourage people to do the same thing. You get out of life what you put into it."
Koch walks the walk as much as he talks the talk. Beginning with the climb in Calgary, he serves as an inspiration for people to take risks and rise above challenges.
"The Calgary Tower happened after I took my little cousin up there. I thought it'd be cool to, just for the hell of it, climb the tower," said Koch. "So I thought I'd get hold of them and see how one goes about it."
A friend of his had already completed a climb, and while he was looking into his own climb, the floods came to Calgary, and he thought he could use it as an opportunity to raise some money following the disaster.
"When I finished the Calgary Tower, immediately I'm thinking, 'That was fun.' I'm assuming it was a lot like runners when they do marathons. I thought, 'OK, what's next.'"
A reasonable next step would be the CN Tower.
The War Amps were in Calgary during his climb and had one of their cameras document his effort. At that climb, he suggested climbing the CN Tower to raise funds for the War Amps, an organization with a special place in his life.
After contacting people at the CN Tower, it became clear he would have to participate in either the United Way climb in the fall or the World Wildlife Fund Climb in the spring.
He decided to climb for United Way and after meeting some of the organizers, he is hoping to maybe set something up for the War Amps.
The event website says the climb generally takes about 30 minutes, but Koch said he would like to complete it in under an hour.
What's the next tower on Koch's radar?
"I have to veer away from the tower climbing thing," Koch said with a laugh. "I don't want to be that guy who just climbs towers."
He said the fact that the two climbs he is doing are so close together is purely coincidental. He doesn't know exactly what is next, but he is determined to work with the War Amps.
"That's an organization that has been fairly close to me and helped me out a lot in my life. It would be nice to issue a challenge for myself. If you can do that and benefit an organization that's bigger and better than you are, then why not?"
Koch isn't sure if anyone without arms and legs has climbed the CN Tower yet, but he smiles at the thought of having the "dubious distinction" of being the first.
"Who knows? It might be a domino effect. People without arms and legs just flocking to the CN Tower," he joked.
Koch is accepting pledges, and all donations will go to United Way Toronto. He said that even if people want to support the Toronto chapter, he encourages people to donate to United Way Estevan, which is hosting its annual telethon this weekend.
"As long as the people who need the help get the help, that's all that matters," he said.
For more on Koch, people may visit his YouTube channel or check out his donation page for the United Way Toronto Tower Climb.
