‘Everest’ can only be used as a verb in very specific circumstances. You can’t say: ‘I totally Everested that burger!’ or, ‘Sorry I can’t come out tonight – I’m Everesting my hair.’ In order to be a qualified Everester, you need to have travelled up and down a hill of your choice as many times as it takes to match the 8,848m elevation of the world’s tallest mountain.
The idea was conceived, fittingly, by George Mallory – not the legendary British mountaineer who never returned from an attempt to climb Everest in 1924, but his grandson. While preparing for his own expedition up the mountain in the 1990s, he cycled up and down Mount Donna Buang in Australia eight times to reach the equivalent height.
Plenty of serious athletes have undertaken the challenge since – and let’s not be under the illusion that, even without crampons, a sherpa or two and an oxygen tank, it’s anything other than incredibly tough. But, such is the range of hills available that you may well be tempted to become the first to Everest one of your local slopes – and you wouldn’t be alone. Lockdown was a particular boom time, with Strava reporting a 600% increase in Everesting attempts in 2020.
Ready to take a shot at it? Here’s everything you need to know.
Who started Everesting?
The Everesting website was started by Andy van Bergen, an Australian cyclist and member of Melbourne’s Hells 500, a cycling club known for setting out on enormous rides. His site is where you can submit proof of your Everesting accomplishment and be added to the ‘Hall of Fame’ page. Once you’ve been enrolled, you have permission to buy their made to order kit, if you want, locked behind an ‘Only for finishers’ This is the average 10K finish time.
Can runners make an Everesting attempt?
Everesting is most popular with cyclists, not least because running that elevation is even harder. However, completing an Everesting Run is becoming more popular. There are a couple of variations for runners: either ‘non-shuttled’, where every time you reach the top you come back down on foot as well, or ‘shuttled’, where you make your descents by a quicker method such as bike or even, if the location allows, cable car or ski lift.
What is Virtual Everesting?
Aerobic and anaerobic exercise, explained Zwift or RGT. You must have the gradient set to 100% replication/max and your rider profile weight has to be accurate on the day of the challenge.
What is the Everesting 10K Club?
This is a separate, even tougher bike challenge, with two routes to success. The first is the straightforward 10K, which involves one single, unbroken ride of more than 10,000m vertical, with no time restriction, no distance requirement and no sleep allowed. The second is the Everesting Roam, where riders must complete more than 10,000m vertical in less than 36 hours, with a minimum of 400km. Sleep is allowed (although it’s on the clock).
Are there rules for Everesting?
Running and bike activities must be logged on Strava, unless you take part in virtual Everesting, which must be logged on Zwift or RGT. Runners and riders must reach 8,848m of elevation gain in one single climb of any distance on the same road (or, in the case of runners, any track, mountain, staircase, bridge and so on).
Although entrants are allowed to stop, this will be factored into results so the less you rest, the more chance you have of winning. If riders decide to push on past 8,848m and reach 10,000m, they will automatically qualify for the 10K ride. Electric and recumbent bikes are not allowed, except in special circumstances. For every shuttled Everesting Run, competitors must run the ascent but can be transported down (via car or shuttle, for example). On transported descents, runners are allowed to pause their tracking device.
Who could I be up against?
You’ll have plenty of company if you complete an Everesting attempt. At the time of writing, the Hall of Fame lists over 31,000 Everestings, with a total elevation climbed of 242 million metres. Record holders for an Everesting Ride are currently Ireland’s Ronan McLaughlin in 6:40:54, Sean Gardner who climbed Tanners Ridge in Virginia in 6:59:38 and Hayden McCormick, who completed a New Zealand Everesting in 7:03:46.
Runners are a bit slower. The current fastest times for unsupported runs have been recorded by Denmark’s Simon Grimstrup in 10:45:14, Marc Schulze of Germany in 11:01:40 and the UK’s Ian Bailey, who went up and down Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland 36 times in 11:17:00.
However, if you’re harbouring fantasies of knocking a professional off the leaderboard, the Everesting website might take the shine off your ambitions: ‘The overall Everesting record time is only really possible now by highly trained and experienced pro cyclists, however other permutations of records, like country, age-based, terrain type, etc., are still in the realm of amateur riders.’ In other words, you probably won’t place anywhere near the top, but you could beat your mates.
Is Everesting dangerous?
If you don’t train properly, take precautions and heed the extensive safety advice on the Everesting website, then yes, it could be risky – especially when you are sleep deprived and in isolated locations. In response to this, Hells 500 has implemented safety features, including a two-hour sleep allocation for multiple Everesting attempts.
The overall male and female fastest times for cycling, running and virtual rides continue to be verified and acknowledged, but other records are no longer highlighted. So, be sensible, do your training and remember: ‘It only counts if you get back down from the mountain.’
You can find more information about Everesting here.
