Everest 10,000m+ challenge
Thursday 17th December 2020
by Jason Kelly
The official Everesting website (https://everesting.cc/) states the concept of Everesting is fiendishly simple: pick any hill, anywhere in the world and complete repeats of it in a single activity until you climb 8,848m – the equivalent height of Mount Everest. Complete the challenge on a bike, on foot, or online, and you’ll find your name in the Hall of Fame, alongside the best climbers in the world. It also notes, “Fiendishly simple, yet brutally hard. Everesting is the most difficult climbing challenge in the world.”
I first heard of the Everest challenge about 3 or 4 years ago and it sounded like a good challenge when the time was right. As part of my 2018 One Day Ahead Tour de France training, I completed a virtual Everest on an indoor trainer by completing 10 climbs of Alpe du Zwift for total climbing of over 10,000m. This effort felt a little bit like cheating with no weather or road conditions to contend with and an air conditioned steady temperature environment. As such, an itch remained unscratched. Why do it? Because it’s there and a challenge.
Under the March/April 2020 COVID19 lockdowns, cyclists were instructed to keep within 10km of home. A 10km radius from my home easily encompassed the top of Te Mata Peak so this became a simple, default ride for the year. As the year progressed, my total peak climbs were accumulating for the year before I was literally knocked out of the July National Cycling Championships during the final sprint. After recovering from the crash, peak climbs were resumed in preparation for the not so Gentle Annie (Taihape – Hastings) ride which had been rescheduled to the end of November. I also set a goal of trying to achieve a total of at least two peak climbs for every day of the year i.e. 732 total as 2020 is a leap year of 366 days. By late November, with the Gentle Annie completed on a tandem in surreal style, it was time for my next challenge.
My thoughts had always been that December would be the most suitable time for an Everest challenge as the best weather and maximum day light hours should be available. Strava is inconsistent with its climbing calculations, e.g. it shows the Te Mata Peak 5.5km as 346m of climbing but the Octapeak (Double Quadrapeak) i.e. eight climbs, as 366m per climb. Over 28 climbs, this is a difference of over 560m. So to remove any doubt, I budgeted on 25 full climbs for an Everest challenge. Doing the calculations, another three climbs would take the total climb to over 10,000m which sounded like an even better challenge. With an announcement that the official height of Mount Everest had been re-measured and agreed on as 8,848.86m, it was time to plan a ride.
As such, I set a tentative date of Monday 21st December as experience has shown the peak traffic on weekends can be diabolical with a number of “Dawns” (Darwin Award Nominees i.e. people, dogs, cyclists or motor vehicles who get in the way and try to kill themselves) seemingly regularly present. With a date set, training was increased with 16 climbs completed on Saturday 05th December followed by another 10 climbs on Sunday 06th December which gave over 10,000m of climbing for the weekend.
Looking at the long range weather forecast to try and choose the best weather day i.e. not too hot, not too cold, not too windy and not raining, Thursday 17th December looked promising so was pencilled in. Closer to the day, the forecast still looked good so logistics with family as a support crew were organised. I chose to start the ride on my disc brake equipped Giant TCR for safety on the downhills and it also has lower (easier) gears which I thought would be required for the later climbs.
The plan was simple – be on the road by 5am and complete 28 full Te Mata Peak climbs and descents. I would drive to the start in Simla Avenue and then have food and drink brought to me every two or three hours or as required. Based on training and experience, whichever way I calculated an estimated completion time, it came out at around a minimum of 15 hours with a likely range of 15-17 hours elapsed time.
On
the Wednesday evening, food and drinks were prepared, the Garmin wired up to a
battery extension pack to ensure it would last the distance and the van packed
with a spare bike, wheels and other equipment in case of breakages.
Thursday morning came and I was awake early so got out of bed and started final preparations at 3:42am. It was certainly dark outside but the temperature seemed quite reasonable and a brief wind howled. I drove to the start line in Havelock North and was on the road at 4:29am – 31 minutes ahead of schedule. It was a good sign for what would be a long day.
As I rarely ride in the dark, let alone at 4:30am in the morning, I always find it quite peaceful and enjoyable. Hills are good as you cannot see them and just ride. The peak gates were still closed but as this was the case all through the COVID19 lockdowns, it was not an issue. The first climb was soon completed and the descent in the dark was taken carefully and with no traffic, it was quite good although I did manage to find some more pot holes I normally miss as I took a different line down the road.
The sun was starting to show by the 2nd climb and I just rode on feel – an effort I thought I could manage all day. Even though the bike has a power meter, I literally never looked at it for the entire ride.
The morning started with a pleasant 10-11° temperature which was ideal for climbing. Dehydration was always a concern but the coolness meant this was not an early problem and I completed nine climbs before getting more drink on the bike.
Initial weather conditions were ideal with sunshine and a light tail wind in places. The climbs slowly started to tick off. By the time of my 2nd feed and drink stop, I had completed 14 climbs and was halfway there. I sneaked a peak at my timer and was somewhat stunned to see the total riding time was just less than seven hours – i.e. less than 30 minutes per climb and descent. That put me another 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
With the forecast cloud cover not eventuating and the wind changing to a sea breeze and largely headwind, the temperature reached 24°C. This combined with my legs starting to realise I had been riding for a few hours caused them to start to cramp. More fluids and food were required and I continued to push on.
Passing the water tanks on the 20th ascent, Mike Newall, a fellow Ramblers Cycling club member, came out of the mountain bike tracks and sat on my wheel to the top. When he asked how many climbs I had done, I answered 20. This threw him a little and gave him a somewhat shocked facial expression. He said I thought you might say 10 or 12 but it probably explains why I could keep up!
With twenty climbs completed, this left just eight to go. Relatively speaking, this is just over a quarter of the ride. The legs were not on fire but were still pumping though looking forward to the rests on the descent.
By the time of the 22nd climb, this is effectively into the Everest “death zone” of above 8,000m. Even though I was employing my lower gears, with the end getting nearer, the ride seemed to get easier. I also worked out why I had been misjudging my top turns a little and taking them too wide – I had been going faster than normal. This was no longer a problem.
My brother Patrick and nephew Nicholas (also Ramblers cycling club members) came to join me riding on my 23rd time up. Nicholas stopped at the top while Patrick continued on. By this time, the wind on the top half was quite blustery and in our face. Cloud cover had finally started to form and the temperature retreated from its peak.
After the 24th complete climb and descent, I snuck just the 2nd look of the day at my timer to see 12 hours 30 minutes of riding had been completed. I then changed the Garmin screen to see the total climbing. On the 25th ascent, around about the water tanks, it clicked over 8,849m in a time of 12 hours 48 minutes which meant I had completed the Everest challenge. In the immortal words of the late Sir Edmund Hillary, I had knocked the bastard off. This left just three and a bit more climbs to go to complete 10,000m+ for the day.
Into the final climbs, another rider tagged on behind Patrick and I. When he asked how many climbs I had done, he was rather disbelieving when told 27 or so with 28 total planned.
The
28th and final climb was started which meant just 5.5km to the top.
The legs were still protesting but it was all downhill from the top. The summit
was reached and I rode right up to trig station for a finishing photo. The
final climb was completed in a Strava recorded time of 25m 48s. During this
climb, Patrick, who was on his sixth climb of the day with me, commented he was
glad he did not have 22 more climbs to go. With the photo taken, I descended to
the van in Simla Avenue to complete the ride with the cramp disappearing and
the legs feeling o.k. This last climb of the day was also my 902nd
full Te Mata Climb of the year – way ahead of my minimum target.
Stopping the timer, 307.24km had been ridden in 14 hours 44 minutes 41 seconds and 10,215m climbed. 10,955kJ had been expended and almost 50,000 pedal strokes completed. Quite surprisingly, I also beat my KOM (King of the Mountain) best Strava times for both the Octapeak (eight climbs & descents) in 3 hours 58 minutes 53 seconds (under 30 minutes each) and the Septapeak (seven climbs & descents) in 3 hours 29 minutes 07 seconds. My fastest 5.5km ascent was 20 minutes 30 seconds (fifth climb) and slowest 25 minutes 48 seconds (twenty eight & last ascent). Total elapsed time was 14 hours 57m which was almost my exact predicted minimum time of 15 hours. Traffic of all kinds had been remarkably light and good with no Darwin Award winners for the day – unlike during lockdown where it was almost a daily affair.
The ride was submitted to the Everesting web site and approved for inclusion in the Everest Hall of Fame (see https://everesting.cc/hall-of-fame/#/ and search for Jason Kelly.) With the Everesting web site now also having a half Everest (base camp, 4,424m) section, a number of earlier rides were also submitted and approved for inclusion.
Thanks to Patrick, Nicholas, Amanda, Brian & Roxanne Kelly for their help and support.
With
the itch well and truly scratched with the Everest 10,000m+ challenge
completed, what is my next cycling challenge? Perhaps some more tandem cycling adventures?
3,000 full recorded Te Mata Peak climb also beckons. Once the world returns to
“normal”, a leisurely coast to coast USA north cycle trip also has appeal.
Strava profile of the Everest 10,000m+ challenge ride
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