Moose FM CHMT 93.1 - Timmins

How best do you train for a climb up one of the world’s highest mountain? One way is to use one of the world’s deepest mines, like the Xstrata Copper Kidd Mine in Timmins. A local group of four climbers is set to tackle Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania on June 29^th, in a fundraising feat benefitting the Make-A-Wish Foundation and specifically five northern Ontario children battling life-threatening medical conditions. Mount Kilimanjaro is around 13,800 vertical feet upwards, while the Kidd Mine is 9,800 vertical feet down. Peter Jurenovskis, senior diamond drill geologist and climber says the ascent from the bottom of the mine to surface echoes the conditions that will be experienced on the Kilimanjaro climb. Peter represents the local group called Team Nickili and they're already raised over $45,500 for the Foundation. Click the read more link to browse the official release.

On June 29^th, four climbers from Timmins will begin their trek up Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa) on behalf of Make-a-Wish Foundation to benefit five northern children who are battling life-threatening medical conditions with outreach wishes. Although not a technical climb, training in Timmins for the trek up the highest free-standing mountain in the world at just over 13,800 vertical feet, proved to be a challenge where the highest local peak is Kamiskotia at 1,302 feet above sea level. However, climber Peter Jurenovskis, a senior diamond drill geologist with Xstrata Copper Kidd Operations took a unique approach by starting from the “bottom” – literally.
“I work at Kidd Mine, the world’s deepest base-metal mine with an access ramp that descends approximately 3 kilometres from surface to the bottom of the mine,” said Peter. “In essence the mine is over 9,800 vertical feet deep and that was closer to my goal.”
In addition to the long distance climb from bottom of mine to surface, there were also other advantages for using Kidd Mine’s ramp to train for the upcoming climb.
“When we start our trek up Mount Kilimanjaro, we will be in tropical rain forest. By the time we reach the top, we will have passed five different climate zones to an Arctic-like climate. Starting from the bottom of Kidd’s ramp, the conditions are similarly hot and humid. As one ascends the ramp and gets closer to the top, there is lots of wind and colder temperatures,” explained Peter. “Using the ramp to train provided ideal variation in temperature and humidity.”
Peter worked closely with Kidd Operations’ management to obtain all necessary permissions for his ramp climb which was completed over five consecutive Sundays this past spring. To ensure Peter’s safety, various precautions, such as enhanced communications and visibility were implemented. In addition to benefitting from the intensive physical training, Peter was also able to collect a number of useful data for Kidd including taking temperature and humidity readings at every level, recording noise intensity and radio communication availability in different areas of the mine. He was also able to take part in an experiment to document the physical effects of the climb in hot, humid conditions.
“We were very pleased to have this opportunity to support one of our employees in this worthy cause,” said Tom Semadeni, Kidd Operations General Manager. “It is our goal to encourage our employees in their desire to give back to the community in which we all live and work.”