Strange moves from Box Run to Box Climb
He has run across Canada twice. Now, Mike Strange will take on the Matterhorn.
Next month, the three-time Olympic boxer and Niagara Falls city councillor will try to climb the 4,478-metre (14,692-foot) mountain that straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy.
Strange won’t be alone. He will be joined by council colleague Victor Pietrangelo and friends Mike DiCienzo and John Ventresca.
The group hopes to raise $50,000 each for Ronald McDonald House in Hamilton and stem cell research for childhood cancer.
Strange said the mountain-climb idea came about when he and Pietrangelo were running along the Bruce Trail.
“I was talking about a run that myself and another runner … kind of had planned, but we couldn’t get our schedules together to do it,” said Strange.
“He said, ‘Mike, why don’t you do something a little bit different? Everyone knows that you can run.’ “I’m like, ‘well, what do you mean?’ He said, ‘what about doing something like a climb, a box climb?’”
Strange said Pietrangelo has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and also climbed the Orizaba mountain in Mexico with DiCienzo and Ventresca.
After watching some videos of the Matterhorn on YouTube, Strange initially thought Pietrangelo was “insane” for his suggestion.
At the same time, Strange said: “I’m the type of guy who loves challenges and likes to test my limits.”
He said he would do it if DiCienzo joined them. Strange said Pietrangelo told him he would also get Ventresca to do it as well.
Strange said from what he has learned, the Matterhorn offers a “very technical” challenge.
“There’s no hiking. It’s almost a 35 to 45-degree angle, the whole climb. The summit climb itself if about a 10-hour turnaround, so it’s very challenging physically and technically.”
Strange said nine to 12 people die each year while climbing the Matterhorn. He said that’s because they did not have guides, which his group will have.
The group will leave Aug. 2, practice for two days and are scheduled to start the mountain climb at 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 6, which happens to be Strange’s birthday.
Strange said his group has been training for the last three months to prepare for the climb.
He said the training has been “totally different” than the prepwork for his two cross-Canada runs to raise money to fight childhood cancer for his charitable Box Run Foundation in recent years.
“We’ve been doing a lot of the stairs at the gorge.
“We had to go buy equipment, like these special kinds of boots that really stick to the rocks. We’ve also been doing some weight training, like legs and upper-body strength to help get you up that mountain.”
Unlike others in his group, Strange said he doesn’t know what to expect because he has no experience climbing a mountain.
“I think it’s the fact that I don’t know how to climb a mountain that’s going to help raise money,” he said with a laugh.
Having climbed a mountain before, Ventresca said his advice to Strange is: “Don’t look up. Keep focused on your footing and your hands.”
Ventresca said while Orizaba is taller, the Matterhorn will pose its own unique challenges.
“It’s straight up and will require upper-body strength and a strong mindset.”
Strange said while the climb is to raise money for noble causes, it’s also dedicated to local children who have battled cancer.
“It’s very symbolic, too, I think, with the mountain because they have an uphill battle the whole time. Some of these kids have passed away, some have beaten cancer and some are still battling.”
A fundraiser is being held Thursday, starting at 5 p.m., at the Falls View Hose Brigade on Dunn Street to support the climb. Tickets are $5 each.
Strange said there will be food, alcohol, entertainment and raffle prizes.
Children are welcome to come and get Canadian flags signed by Strange, Pietrangelo, DiCienzo and Ventresca, who will be placing the flags all the way up the mountain in honour of children who have passed away from cancer, or who are battling the disease.