Get behind Mines Rescue Team for Sky Tower challenge

OceanaGold Waihi Mines Rescue Team members training at Bowentown. Photo / Supplied

This Saturday members of OceanaGold's Mines Rescue Team will be donning full rescue outfits and a 14 kilogramme BG4 closed circuit breathing sets before climbing 1103 steps over 51 flights of stairs.

There's no emergency. They are doing it to raise money for the Firefighter Sky Tower Stair Challenge.

Currently the Waihi team is in third place across the country for funds raised, and
team member Shay Perkinson is fifth overall on the individual leader board.

The Firefighter Sky Tower Stair Challenge is one of Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand's largest fundraising events and has completed its 15th year.

Each year firefighters from around New Zealand, Australia and the USA gain sponsorship and compete in this event at Auckland's Sky Tower, reaching a vertical height of 328 metres.

The event has consistently raised over $1 million in each of the last four years.

Not for the unfit or faint-hearted, training recommendations include steep hills, sand dunes rowing and weight training.

It's also a good idea to train in a heavy jacket and pants.

The Waihi team has been preparing for this year's event as individuals and as a team.

Recently the team climbed Mount Maunganui, which at 232 metres, is still only two-thirds of the vertical height of the Sky Tower.

The current record for the climb is eight minutes 34 seconds, held by a competitor described as 'an ironman machine'.

Members of the Waihi team aim to complete the climb in 14-15 minutes, raising around $18,000 in the process.