Twelve people affiliated with Pioneer Elementary School assembled as Team Trailblazers, and climbed the Columbia Tower March 22 in a fundraiser for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, with parent Mike Bollinger leading the pack.

“A father of one of my students is a Seattle fireman and he organized the team,” said PES teacher Kathy Shoemaker.

Team Trailblazers included students, parents and teachers, said Captain Mike Bollinger.

“This was our first attempt, and I hope it grows bigger next year,” Bollinger added.

“We only had 12 people including family and friends, but we raised about $1,000,” Bollinger said. “We had six kids and six adults.”

They all made their way up 69 flights of stairs.

“That’s 1,311 steps,” Shoemaker said.

This was the 23rd annual event to raise awareness and money for finding a cure for blood cancer.

“It started out with firefighters only,” Bollinger said. “Then they started a second event for the community.”

In his 11th year as a firefighter, Bollinger said the community climb was easy for him, because he had done the climb in full gear many times before. This was his first year in the community climb without the bunker gear, he said.

“It’s a lot easier without the load,” he said.

Student participants were Cooper McAuslin, 10, Thomas Brown, 10, Hayden Bollinger 10, Amanda Barentine, 10, Hailey Bollinger, 8 and Victoria Brown, 13, a student at Haller Middle School, who is a family member of Bollinger’s wife’s best friend.

“I like the cause and it’s a great event,” Bollinger said that his wife’s cousin is being treated for leukemia.

“I feel that kids shouldn’t have to suffer,” he said.

Two of the team members were his own children, Hayden and Hailey Bollinger. The team mom was his wife, Linda Bollinger.

Climbers were divided into two groups, with one stairwell dedicated to racers and the other one for climbers.

“All five parents were on the racer side,” Bollinger said.

The firefighters raced among themselves with bunker gear March 8.

“We had 6,000 civilians involved in the March 22 event,” Bollinger said.

In the under 12 category Cooper McAuslin, age 10, took fifth place finishing in 11 minutes and 21 seconds, Bollinger said.

Thomas Brown came in 30th and Hayden Bollinger was the 68th under 12-year-old to finish.

“These are all fine finishes for all the boys,” said the captain.

“Hailey, Victoria and Amanda went on the climbers side where they did not get timed in the event but still had very fine finishes,” Bollinger said.

“We are already planning for a bigger team next year,” Bollinger said

“We are trying to raise awareness, and hope.”