On the 90th floor of the Sears Tower, Weinberg freshman Alex James Thaler felt an unexpected boost.

“I don’t know where all this energy came from,” Thaler said.

Thaler was among about 40 Northwestern students to participate in the first-ever Skyscraper Challenge on Saturday night to raise money for victims of the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in December.

The first climbers completed the Skyscraper Challenge and reached the tower’s Sky Deck in 20 minutes and 55 seconds. Participants made their way up 105 stories and through uproarious cheers by organizers to a clear, sparkling view of the downtown Chicago skyline at night.

By the 99th floor, McCormick junior David Zorn heard loud music spiraling down the stair case as he reached the finale of the world’s largest indoor stair climb.

“If you don’t look at the (floor) numbers, it actually goes a lot faster,” Zorn said. “The first 30 floors are the hardest … (after that) you are practically there.”

The twinkling city lights and the relief of the air conditioning was the reward for participating in the Skyscraper Challenge.

“I feel like it’s DM, but vertical,” said Holly Rehm, a Weinberg freshman.

Most students finished the climb in about an hour. Some stumbled to the Sky Deck exhausted, but others said they were invigorated by the climb.

Nearly 275 undergraduates, faculty and administrators from other colleges participated in the Skyscraper Challenge. The climb was organized by Direct Relief International, a nonprofit medical relief organization.

The event raised more than $15,000 —