Calgary Tower (Tower 802 Challenge)

Elevation: 1228 m (observation deck)
Elevation Gain: 160 m
The Calgary Tower is a 191-m-tall free standing observation tower that is located in the downtown core of Calgary, AB. Originally named the Husky Tower, it was built to celebrate Canada’s centennial in 1967. At the time of its opening, the tower was the tallest Canadian structure outside of Toronto. Although its height has since been surpassed by other local skyscrapers, it remains a local icon and its 160-m-tall, 360-degree observation deck provides tourists and locals with unrivaled views of the Calgary area. Typically, the observation deck is accessed by elevator, however, the Tower’s operators occasionally grant more physically demanding access via the structure’s 802 stairs. Header photo courtesy Wikipedia.
My Ascents:
March 28 2023
Trailhead: Palliser Parkade

When Brianne’s parents offered to take our 5- and 7-year-old daughters for a random Tuesday night sleepover, my wife and I suddenly found ourselves with nothing to do. Who would we cook for? What messes would we clean up? Who would we nag to do their homework or get to bed? It was all very puzzling for us! What to do? What to do?... 🤔

Of course, those rare occasions where I find myself with spare time usually see my mind drift to thoughts of mountains. Alas, working until 4:30 pm put a serious damper on the feasibility of any impromptu climbs that I might have suggested for a Tuesday night date with my wife. That is, unless I could find something for us to climb in the city…

Recalling a “Challenge 802” post I’d seen on social media some weeks earlier, I texted Brianne as I left work with the suggestion that we climb the Calgary Tower’s 802 stairs for our date night. To my great surprise, she was packed, changed and ready to go for a serious stair-climb by the time that I got home!

LEFT and RIGHT: And we’re off! 🚀 After a quick drive downtown, we started up the Calgary Tower stairs. As you can see, we weren’t completely kid-free for our date night but 6-month-old Lillian is still very portable and essentially served as the world’s cutest training weight 🏋️‍♀️💪 during our climb.

Look at that?! Another “Hobbs” in the Tower’s stairwell! While I expected a never-ending concrete façade for scenery during our ascent, we were pleasantly surprised to find stair art from local students at intervals of every 15 steps or so.

LEFT: Brianne pretending that she’s not out of breath…
RIGHT: Success! Brianne and Lillian are on the “summit” (802 stairs and a little huffing and puffing later)! 🙌

LEFT: Having worked harder than usual to get up the Calgary Tower, we decided to take Lillian out and to enjoy the sweeping views from the Observation Deck.
RIGHT: Date night photo 160-m above the streets below. Don’t look down! 👀

LEFT and RIGHT: Lillian checks out the Tower’s vertigo-inducing glass floor. Unlike our middle child Penny 😵‍💫, Lillian didn’t seem bothered by the floor’s airy feel. 😂

LEFT and RIGHT: Obligatory Daddy-Daughter photos.

LEFT: By far, the cutest “Challenge 802” participant. 🥰
RIGHT: After enjoying the views and the company from the top of the Calgary Tower, we suddenly realized that we’d worked up quite an appetite climbing all those stairs! Motivated by visions of date night burgers and beers, we therefore retraced our 802 steps back down (trying to avoid getting dizzy as we loop dee looped down the twisting stairwell).

LEFT and RIGHT: Date night success #2! 🍻 With another successful “climb” under our belts, Brianne and I located tasty craft beer and supper at the nearby Last Best Brewery. As you can see, Lillian was just as excited as we were!

Hopefully my in-laws enjoyed cooking for our older kids, cleaning up after them and nagging them to get to bed! 😉