CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN! Firefighter Elise's lofty goal

Instead of blowing out candles on her birthday, the Wānaka hero will be lacing up her hiking boots and doing the hard yards for her charity

- Kaisa Jillings

At just 21, Elise Stables has packed more into life than most. She's a volunteer firefighter training to be a helicopter pilot and an adventure junkie passionate about using her skills to support those in need.

To celebrate her 22nd birthday, she's come up with the lofty goal to summit three Wānaka mountains in one day, wearing more than 15kg of structural firefighter gear - all to raise money for CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Research Trust.

Starting at 5 am on the morning of her birthday, May 28, Elise will hike up Mt Roy followed by Mt Isthmus and finally Mt Iron. In total, the elevation she climbs will be 3214 metres - more than 10 times the height of Auckland's Sky Tower.

“I love having a challenge," explains Elise, who initially wanted to partake in the annual Sky Tower Firefighter Challenge.

“I thought Covid might muck it up, so I woke up in the morning, saw the mountain out my window and came up with this idea. When I worked out the distances, I was like, 'Woah, well, I'll see if I can do it and do it for charity.”

While Elise is fiercely determined, she anticipates her comfort levels will be sorely pushed. The breathing apparatus set she'll be wearing weighs around 15kg, and with the full structural firefighters uniform, including helmet, she'll need to be mindful of overheating and dehydrating.