Past blog posts have looked at firefighters raising money for charity by doing ladder climbs, where, working in teams, they climb up and down the ladder for hours at a time, trying to cover a set distance. There is a world record for the longest distance climbed on a ladder that is hotly contested and challenged all the time.

If you don’t fancy the thought of climbing up and down a ladder for long stretches (even for charity) then there is another inventive way of using a ladder to raise money. It’s called the Ladder-a-Thon, and is held every year in Cole Harbour, Halifax, Canada. This scheme is done by firefighters as well, but rather than be constantly climbing up and down the ladder, they sit at the top for 50 hours to raise money. Over three days, one firefighter sits on top of one of the department’s ladders. They are allowed breaks, but this year’s sitter, 51-year-old Beth Moriarty, will only come down at night when no-one is around.

Who Wants to Sit on a Ladder?

Four people applied to for the prestigious title of ‘Ladder Sitter’ this year, and Moriarty was delighted to be chosen. She had been wanting to take on the role since joining Station 17, the station that runs the unique ladder challenge. Moriarty will not be the first woman to complete the Ladder-a-Thon, but she is the oldest person to do so. It’s not a hard challenge for her physically though, as she plays volleyball, lifts weights and looks after three children. She has said “the challenge will be to sit still for all that time. I am used to being busy.”

Moriarty will dedicate the three days up the ladder to studying for her air brakes test, as she wants to progress to driving the fire engines and there are many components to the qualification. Having volunteered as support at the event in the past, she knows what to expect of the sitting task, and of the support team. Hopefully she will be able to help beat last year’s $25,000 raised for Muscular Dystrophy and pass her air brakes test at the same time!

Do you have any seemingly crazy ladder stories? I mean, three days sitting on the top of a ladder seems a bit potty to me.. If you have heard of anything that might entertain our readers please post a comment below or share a link to anything ladder related, we’re gluttons for punishment!