The three Wanaka Fire Brigade volunteers are planning their own take on the annual Auckland Sky Tower charity climb challenge next month.
Builder Glen Thurston, plumber Mark Strang and engineer Darren Vedder will don their full firefighting equipment and breathing apparatus to tackle an ongoing escalator climb in Wanaka's Spencer Mall.
Mr Thurston said the escalator would be set to run backwards and the trio would climb what is effectively a massive uphill treadmill.
They would be decked out in their heat-resistant equipment, which weighs about 25kg.
Mr Thurston and Mr Vedder wanted to do a "local effort" to raise funds for the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation of New Zealand, after they competed in the Sky Tower Firefighters Challenge in May.
The group plan to climb the escalator treadmill for about 30min - a timeframe that should result in them climbing more than twice the height of the Sky Tower's 51 flights of stairs.
Remuera Station fireman Paul Gerritson was the fastest to scale the Sky Tower's 1103 steps in a record time of 9min and 35sec this year, while Queenstown's Erin Gray took 13min 28sec.
Mr Thurston recorded 12min 9sec, while Mr Vedder climbed home in 13min 42sec - so the pair will be climbing for twice as long in their Wanaka challenge.
"We've done a couple of test runs and we've found it pays to ratchet the speed of the escalator down," he said.
"It's tough as it is, even at the lowest speed."
The trio will tackle their climb on Monday, December 20 and will be out fundraising in the lead-up, Mr Thurston said.
