Bill Ekse is going to new heights to battle his friend’s killer.

Ekse, a firefighter with Snohomish County Fire District 7, is attempting to set a new world record for elevation gained on a stair climber within a 24-hour period.

He began Saturday on the sidewalk outside Central Market on Main Street in Mill Creek, and he expected finish about 1:45 p.m. today. He planned to climb through the night, taking small breaks every 90 minutes and keeping warm beneath an overhead heater.

ADVERTISEMENT 0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Live 00:00 00:00 00:00   Niki Desautels / The Herald Bill Ekse sets off on his 24-hour attempt to set the world stair-climbing record Saturday in Mill Creek.

His goal is to raise $15,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He’s doing it for longtime friend Chris Pettersen, who died of cancer in 1998 at 24.

“To watch someone who was so strong who could do anything, and to see something like that come and get him, it really left an impression on me and my friends,” said Ekse, 32.

“I knew I wanted to do something big.”

The stair climb will create a new category in the Guinness Book of Records. Just a few blocks away, the House of Bread entered the Guinness book Oct. 15 by baking the world’s largest cinnamon roll.

Ekse’s family, friends and co-workers gathered around Saturday as he began his ordeal. They cheered and shot pictures as he took his first steps on the machine, wearing a gray, long-sleeved running shirt and black gym shorts.

“I’m really excited for him. He’s done so much to prepare for this,” said his wife, Angie Ekse. “It’s a culmination of a lot of work. He’ll definitely do it.”

Ekse was inspired to set a stair-climbing record during the Scott Firefighter Stairclimb, an annual fundraiser in which firefighters race up the steps of Seattle’s Columbia Center. The elevation gain in the Columbia Center is 788 vertical feet.

Ekse hopes to gain at least 40,000 vertical feet during his record attempt.

It’s a fitting goal in honor of his friend, Ekse said. Pettersen was a “feet-first” guy who loved rock climbing and went sky diving on his wedding day. His high level of fitness made it all the more unbelievable when he was diagnosed with cancer.

“(Pettersen) would be thrilled by this,” said Todd Karr, 32, a longtime friend of Ekse. “He definitely lived life to the fullest.”

Ekse has always been athletic. He’s done the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic and other rides of about 100 miles.

Still, training for his record stair-climbing attempt was difficult.

He spent six months getting ready, starting with 90-minute workouts. After a few months, he lengthened his workouts, but didn’t do them as often.

People at his gym began questioning him when they noticed he was working out for hours at a time. He bought a portable DVD player to help him pass the time on the stair climber.

At the peak of his training, he would work out for up to eight hours at a time, often in the middle of the night. He wanted to get a feeling for climbing while fatigued, he said.

“One night I did that, and by 2 a.m. I was so tired, it was crazy,” Ekse said. “I really got scared that if I got that tired again, I wouldn’t even be able to think straight.”

Ekse sought donations for his cause. Several businesses gave him merchandise for a raffle, and others gave him cash for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Fitness company Nautilus donated two machines for his record attempt. Cliff Bar and Glaceau gave him nutrient bars and bottled water. He got workout gear from Super Jock ‘n Jill in Seattle.

“He’s a dedicated person,” Fire District 7 Battalion Chief Bill Wirtz said. “He puts his mind to something and follows through.”

Ekse was supposed to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, but had to wait a little longer because the truck carrying the stair machines got stuck in traffic.

He stretched lightly while waiting. District 7 firefighters checked his heart rate and other vital signs, which they planned to check every two hours during his attempt.

Then, after all the buildup, he took his first steps.

“It’s good to be going,” Ekse said after about five minutes. “But I already have to go to the bathroom.”

Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.