Space Needle's Base 2 Space Marks 10th Climb

Seattle Fitness Magazine · 11 Sep 2026

• 10thannual climb
• 832steps
• 1,700+climbers on Sept. 27

Over 1,700 climbers took the stairs

Base 2 Space held its 10th annual stair climb at the Space Needle on Sunday, September 27, 2026.

Over 1,700 climbers took on the stairs, the Space Needle's event page says, to support Fred Hutch Cancer Center and the Space Needle Foundation. It followed the eighth climb in 2024 and the ninth in 2025.

Results posted to RunSignup by the event's timer, Avive Timing, put Thomas Baker of Milwaukee first among the adult climbers, in 4:34.99. Seattle's Tristan Roth was third, in 4:50.52. Jill Paha led the women in 5:14.65.

A decade of climbs for Fred Hutch

The Space Needle's May 1 release counted more than 17,000 people who had taken on the climb.

It also counted more than $5.8 million raised for cancer research at Fred Hutch and named 2025 the largest donation yet, at $1.16 million. Ron Sevart, the Space Needle's president and CEO, called the event "an opportunity to create community and inspire them to give back."

The release also lists past wave partners including Pearl Jam, the Seahawks, Sounders FC, Dick's Drive-In and Top Pot Doughnuts. The oldest recorded climber was 92. The 2023 fastest timed climb took 3:34.

832 steps, one way, by choice

Climbers go up one at a time.

The Space Needle releases them every 10 to 15 seconds, each at the start time picked at registration, up either of two open-air staircases, one for runners racing the clock and one for walkers moving at their own pace. Trophies go to the overall fastest male, female and non-binary climbers, announced after the 7:30 to 8 a.m. Elite Wave, and to the fastest in each age group from 8-10 up to 80 and over.

The course covers 832 steps across 98 flights to the Observation Deck, 520 feet up, and every climber rides the elevator back down. A marked exit point at 100 feet is the last way out of the stairwell. Past it, climbers commit to the top. There are no water stations on the stairs; water waits on Broad St Green, the big lawn directly south of the tower, and near the finish at the top. Amy Cunningham, the Space Needle's director of public relations, told KIRO 7 that her climb last year took about 15 minutes.

A flag at the spire for year ten

A new Base 2 Space flag flew more than 600 feet above Seattle on Thursday, September 3.

It was due back September 27. Top fundraisers climbed the Space Needle's spire that morning to watch it go up, KIRO 7 reported, as the Space Needle and Fred Hutch marked a decade of fundraising. The climb ran first to a platform about 570 feet up, then to the top of the spire, roughly 605 feet in the air.

Paul Lampe, a Fred Hutch professor, had done the stair climb seven times before. The spire was a first. He told KIRO 7 that fundraising like this brings in dollars that are very hard to get in other places.

Fundraising runs through October 31

Fundraising stays open through October 31.

The event page at spaceneedle.com/base2space has a Make a Donation button, and its FAQ gives the same deadline for the 10th climb's fundraising. The top 10 individual fundraisers and two participants chosen at random will have the opportunity to join a special event at the Space Needle in 2027. They must be over 18 to qualify.

Update

This article was updated on October 12, 2026, after the climb it previewed took place.

The September 11 version led on registration deadlines and climb-day check-in times, and said the first Base 2 Space flag would fly from the spire. Per the Space Needle's event page, the climb was held on September 27 with over 1,700 climbers, and KIRO 7 reported the first flag raised on September 3.

The earlier version also said the Space Needle's press materials named Fred Hutch alone as beneficiary; the event page names Fred Hutch Cancer Center and the Space Needle Foundation, and this version follows it.