They came. They saw. They conquered. Yesterday, more than 250 people from five major real estate companies came together to conquer 260 flights of stairs in four buildings, all in support of United Way. (It's also a strenuous way of touring available space.)

Brookfield's Julie Thannickal, Alissa Rankin, Jamie Harkins, Monique Proulx, and Raquel Mendes, before heading over to the stairwell in First Canadian Place at 100 King St W. Brookfield Properties SVP Office Leasing Bob MacNicol says it all went well ("It was damn hard!") and that there were a lot of tired climbers at the Duke of Devon later on, "but the beer was nice and cold."

Brookfield, Cadillac Fairview, Dream, GWL Realty Advisors, and Oxford participated. The first annual event took place on staircases at First Canadian Place, TD Centre, TD Canada Trust Tower, and Commerce Court West. Dundee Realty Management opened up Scotia Plaza for a relay race up 60 floors. Snapped above are Brookfield employees entering the stairwell at First Canadian Place. There were 25 companies and 49 individual teams, doing everything from relay climbs to the four-building climb.

More than $73k was raised, exceeding the $60k target. Brookfield Canada Office Properties prez and CEO Jan Sucharda tells us the event started as part of Brookfield's fundraising but has spread through the real estate community: "We are hoping to make this an annual event and get twice as many teams out next year."