The Party Life of Silvan Colani
November 2004 - Climbing IFC 2
It isn't K2 - but IFC 2. Not the world's second highest mountain, but the world's sixth tallest building.
A recent charity event by the Community Chest of Hong Kong offered the opportunity to enjoy the view from high above Victoria Harbor. Yes, for a donation of HK$1000 I was allowed to race 99 other People Who Do Dumb Things For Fun to the top of the building.
Having recently completed another climb up Central Plaza (at 374m and 78 stories the world's 10th tallest building) in just over 15 minutes, I figured IFC 2 couldn't be much worse.
My training was essentially the same as the preparations for my mountaineering expeditions: climbing the 32 floors to my flat in Wanchai, which apart from the lousy air thanks to all the rubbish in there, is just like the Himalayas (well, not quite...).
The IFC 2 climb was quite an affair, with large TV coverage at the start and every few floors (I gave an interview at each, thus slowing me down...). There were 100 starters in the individual category and 93 made it to the top. The fastest time was 16:13 minutes, while I finished 22nd in 22:23 minutes.
But my main objective wasn't to win the race, but simply to check out the view on top - 415m, 88 floor or about 2500 stairs above sea level. The site was truly breathtaking, despite the pollution (or maybe because of it!). Looking south, I was exactly level with the Peak Tower while the roof of Exchange Square was far below. The Bank of China building looked like a little toy from above here while all of Kowloon appeared like Lego land. On a clear day, the view up here must be truly amazing. Unfortunately that cannot be said of the staircase, which is gray and boring.
For confirmation of the result, click here.
For a list of the world's tallest buildings, click here.
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