Six-year-old Linden Shelford didn't like getting dirty wet sand in his shoes but was determined to keep following the steep trail to the top of the Nechako River cutbanks.
He was having fun racing his mom, Tania Kroot, in the inaugural Climb For Cancer to support the Kordyban Lodge.
Linden might have been one of the smallest climbers but was without a doubt one of the largest fundraisers, collecting $1,120 for the cause. He went door-to-door in his neighbourhood asking for cans and bottles and also had success convincing his grandparents, aunts and uncles to contribute.
"It was a little hard," said Linden, referring to the climb.
The event raised more than $25,000 for the Kordyban Lodge. For three years, the centre has provided affordable lodging and meals for patients and their families who come in from out of town for treatments in Prince George at the adjacent B.C. Cancer Agency Centre for the North.
"My mom is currently battling cancer and (Linden) doesn't know about it, but granny has been going through chemo for a while, in Comox," said Kroot. "I'm proud of him, he is a kid who raises money."
Shawn Ouellet joined the Climbing Cougars – a team of 12 women and two men sporting white Prince George Cougars T-shirts – who got behind the event and made the strenuous climb to the top of the hill. Some made the trip twice.
The wife of Cougars owner Ernest Ouellet grew up in Prince George and while her father was fighting cancer years ago, he had to go to Kelowna for his treatments and live there with relatives for two months. She's thankful the lodge and cancer clinic are now there to serve the people of the northern B.C. so they don't have so far to travel.
Paula Manning, part of the Cougar clan Saturday, knows what the lodge has meant to more than 2,200 patients who have filled rooms at the lodge 8,500 times since it opened in March 2013.
"It's helping people in need, people who come from out of town and need a place to stay and gather and just be a family," said Manning. "They need that comfort from family and friends. It makes you feel good about raising money for a place that can help people.
"It was tough, I hadn't done it for a long time," Manning said of climbing the cutbanks. "It got the legs burning. Maybe I'll give it a go again this summer."
Crystal Lafontaine, a licensed practical nurse at UHNBC, often cares for cancer patients at the hospital. She and the rest of the Albino Winos put on some face paint to stand out in the crowd as they waited in line to head up the hill.
"My mom recently got diagnosed with breast cancer so, here we are, raising money for the Kordyban Lodge," said Lafontaine. "It's a great cause, everyone's been touched by cancer in some way or another. It was easy getting donations, from family members. No doctors. Maybe (they will donate) once they see us."
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, Jules Hadden was one of the first to tackle the hill along with her companion, Ian Hoag.
"Ian heard about it first, and recently I've known two people who got cancer and it's just spread so fast," said Hadden. "It's just a good thing to do."
"Everyone has been touched by cancer and it's just a good opportunity for us to get out and help the cause," said Hoag. "I've climbed up there a few times and the rain helped pack the sand a bit and made it a little easier."
The climb attracted 189 participants.
Pat Bell made it to the top in six minutes 41 seconds, a record time for the 59-year-old former MLA, who along with his son Doug, came up with the idea for the climb while passing by the cutbanks to their Northern Lights Estate Winery.
"What a great start to an annual event, I think this could become a real hallmark in Prince George over time – we're hoping to be well north of $20,000 for this event for sure," said Pat Bell, who started his climb just ahead of Mayor Lyn Hall.
"I've been driving down here every day for the last almost three years and I see people climbing it all the time, so I thought there's got to be an opportunity to do something here that would be good for the community and when the Canadian Cancer Society approached us, that was our opportunity."
Margaret Jones-Bricker, the northern regional director for the Canadian Cancer Society, is also a marathon runner and she took advantage of the climb as an extra training session to prepare for a September race. She knows as well as anybody what the lodge means to the region.
"People from the North have been able to stay closer to home and are able to visit their family and friends staying there at the lodge and it's changed them; they know there's a safe, welcoming environment closer to where they live," said Jones-Bricker.
"I always remember when Dr. (Winston) Bishop (who retired as an oncologist in 2014) commented on the fact he believed, that in addition to the treatment, there was a healing in the emotional side that can be offered through that kind of an environment, and I believe that."
