Cool temperatures on Wedneday morning did little to nip the enthusiasm of participants for the launch of the Heart Foundations Climb to the Top event at the DNA Tower in Kings Park.

As one of Fremantle’s club-aligned charities, Heart Foundation Ambassadors Paul Hasleby and Robert Haddrill were there to kick off the event and encourage corporate and other community members to take on the Climb to the Top challenge and ‘summit Mt Everest’ in 2007.

Paul and Robert, with the help of some Wildcats, army reserves personnel and other community participants hit the DNA Tower in Kings Park and together reached dizzying new heights by climbing the equivalent number of stairs to scale Mount Everest, to launch the heart health initiative.

Climb to the Top is a workplace fundraising and physical activity program encouraging Western Australians to improve their heart health and showing them that getting active can be as easy as taking the stairs instead of the lift or going for a walk during a lunch break.

Officially kicking off in August, the race will be on to be the first team to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest. Teams across Western Australia are already gearing up to take part in the fundraising and physical activity event.

Thousands are expected to conquer new heights by donning their sneakers to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest’s 8,850 metres and take steps together to beat heart disease.

Teams will do all this while raising much needed funds for the Heart Foundation’s life saving research into heart disease, the number one killer of Australians.

Registered teams across Western Australia will climb more than 2 million flights of stairs as part of the fundraising challenge.

Other categories in Climb to the Top include walking and swimming with one minute of each activity the equivalent of one floor of stair climbing and cycling with five minutes of cycling equivalent to one floor of stair climbing.

Climb to the Top is a key fundraising activity for the Heart Foundation with money raised helping fund further research into cardiovascular disease, community education and support for patients.

Registrations for Climb to the Top are now open. To register a team of up to ten contact the Heart Foundation on 9388 3343 or visit the website at www.heartfoundation.com.au/climbtothetop.