Everesting Explained

Everesting is an activity in which cyclists or runners ascend and descend a given hill multiple times, in order to have cumulatively climbed (the elevation of Mount Everest).^{[1] [2]}

The first event described as "Everesting" was by George Mallory, grandson of George Mallory, who disappeared on Everest in 1924. The younger Mallory ascended Mount Donna Buang in 1994, having ridden eight "laps" of the 1,069-metre hill. The format and rules were cemented by Andy van Bergen, inspired by the story of Mallory's effort.^{[3] [4]} In the first official group effort, van Bergen organized 65 riders, 40 of whom finished the Everesting attempt.^[5]

Everesting

George Mallory's Everesting attempt in 1994 was written up into an article in 2012, which first prompted others to take on this challenge. The widespread growth of GPS technology and social media - particularly Strava and Zwift - has been vital in allowing riders to accurately measure distance, elevation and height gain, while also sharing information about their ride. The writer and cyclist Andy van Bergen has been key to popularizing the idea through the Hells 500 group, which had been created as a social group to allow its members to complete and share cycling challenges.^[6] Hells 500 created the Everesting website, which established the parameters of the challenge, and started documenting attempts.

Everesting has grown among both amateur cyclists as a challenging but achievable goal,^[7] and among professionals or retired professionals who have sought to break Everesting time records.^[8] It rose further in popularity during 2020 when the Covid-19 Pandemic resulted in cancelled races, and lockdowns prevented cycling club rides or travel for cycling challenges. This forced riders to seek new challenges, that could be completed on local roads, or on virtual platforms (sometimes called vEveresting).^[9] During 2020, the challenge grew beyond cycling into running.^{[10] [11]}

A number of related challenges have spun-off from the original Everesting challenge. Riders have attempted double, triple or even quadruple Everests.^[12] The Everesting website has multiple suggestions for variants of the challenge, including an Everesting 10k challenge - that is, to continue past the 8848m (29,029feet) of Everest to reach a cumulative height of 10000m (30,000feet) - as a stretch goal,^[13] or a Half-Everest as an easier target.

Parameters

Everesting is a personal challenge, and as such there is no official sanctioning body: the only criterion is that 8848m (29,029feet) of climbing is completed in a single ride or run. To be accepted as a ride on the Everesting website, an attempt must, among other things:

• be recorded on Strava or Zwift;
• be timed as one effort, with any breaks for food or rest included in the attempt's elapsed time;
• be completed by going up and down one route of ascent only, avoiding loops;
• be continuous, with athletes cycling or running down the slope as well as up it (eg, they cannot be taken by car down the slope);
• be completed using a bike that does not have a motor.^[14]

Everesting recognise different rules for variants of the challenge, some of which incorporate sleeping or longer rest breaks to ensure rider safety.

Fastest known times

Women

Rank	Date	Rider		Age	Time	Location	Distance		Average gradient	Notes
		Name						mi
align=center					22	8:03:29	Crowcombe, United Kingdom	106km (66miles)	17.2%	^[15]
align=center					21	8:33:47	Bwlch y Groes, Wales	107.5km (66.8miles)	17.4%	^[16]
align=center				retired	37	8:53:00		130km (80miles)	13%	^[17]
		Hannah Rhodes			9:08:00		163km (101miles)	10.9%	^[18]
				29	9:57:00		179km (111miles)	9.83%	^[19]
				33	10:01:00		197km (122miles)	8.88%	^[20]
		Alice Thompson		24	12:32:00		121km (75miles)	14.6%	^[21]
		Alisa MacDonald		37	12:37:00		188km (117miles)	10.0%	^[22]

Men

Rank	Date	Rider		Age	Time	Location	Distance		Average gradient	Notes
		Name						mi
				34	6:40.54		123km (76miles)	14.2%	^[23]
		Sean Gardner		26	6:59:38		116km (72miles)	15.5%	^[24] ^[25]
				33	7:10:10		130km (80miles)	13.9%	^[26] ^[27]
			retired	37	7:27:20		139km (86miles)	12.9%	^[28]
				28	7:29:00		155km (96miles)	11.1%	^[29] ^[30]
				26	7:40:00		170km (110miles)	10.6%	^[31]
			retired	34	7:52:00		156km (97miles)	11.1%	^[32]

Notable Everesting rides

• The first woman to everest was Sarah Hammond in February 2014, climbing Australia's Mount Buffalo eight times.^[33]
• Frank Garcia was the first to "virtually everest", riding Zwift's Watopia Wall 314 times in 2015.^[34]
• Pavel Paloncý (M) and Markéta Peggy Marvanová (F, both Czech) everested 14 times between April 19, 2021 and June 22, 2021.^[35]
• Benny JJ completed an everesting every month of 2016.^[36]
• Ben Soja was the first to Everest on a 2-gear-unicycle – Schlumpf-gear, 27,5", 150 mm cranks, daytime clipless pedals, during night platform pedals, riding up Mount Lowe in the San Gabriel Mountains of California ten times over twenty-three hours in March 2018. Helmet gloves, knee pads, 1 crash to ground: elbow skin hurt.^[37]
• In August 2018 Zhuangchen “JJ” Zhou became the first rider to everest on Mount Everest, completing 8850m (29,040feet) of climbing over 177 laps of the 1km (01miles) climb to Everest Base Camp in Tibet, China.^[38]
• From June 8, 2022 until June 12, 2022 Arend Van den Broucke did a sextuple everesting on Cresta del Gallo, Murcia (Spain). He rode 1429 km in 108 hours with an elevation of 53,454m.^[39]
• In March 2017 Charlie Rentoul became the first person to everest the "tallest" mountain in the world. This required just two ascents and descents of the 89 km long climb of the dormant volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
• In July 2023 Karl Plötzl was the first person to achieve an 8-times Everest on bike. He was cycling for 7 days continuously, spending a total of 116 hours on his bike to break the previous world record of 7 Everests by going up 70.800m over a distance of 1.781km on a small hill in Austria

Notes and References

1. Web site: WHAT IS EVERESTING?. 4 November 2015. 10 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170810103055/http://www.everesting.cc/everesting/. dead.
2. Web site: THE RULES - EVERESTING. 4 November 2015.
3. Web site: Mallory . George . Mt Everest in a Day . 14 May 2012 . Cycling Tips . 8 August 2022.
4. News: Inside the cult of Everesting. 26 January 2015. The Daily Telegraph. 4 November 2015.
5. Web site: de Neef . Matt . How Everesting Grew into a Global Phenomenon . 28 September 2021 . Cycling Tips . 8 August 2022.
6. Web site: About . Everesting.
7. Web site: Leach . Marcus . My own personal Everest . 18 December 2020 . Cyclist . 8 August 2022.
8. Web site: Alberto Contador takes Everesting to a new level . Velonews . 10 July 2020 . 8 August 2022.
9. Web site: Yaeger . Selene . Everesting Is Having a Moment . 20 May 2020 . Bicycling . 8 August 2022.
10. Web site: McGuigan . Molly . Everything you need to know about Everesting . 17 December 2020 . Runners World . 8 August 2022.
11. Web site: Russell . Fiona . Danish runner sets impressive 'Everesting' world record . Advnture . 10 June 2021 . 8 August 2022.
12. Web site: Dabbs . Ryan . British cyclist breaks Everesting world record after 114 hours of riding, climbing more than anyone else before . 8 March 2022 . Cycling Weekly . 8 August 2022.
13. Web site: Everesting10k . Everesting.
14. Web site: Ride Rules . Everesting . 8 August 2022.
15. News: Illi Gardner sets a new Everesting world record. Ronan. Mc Laughlin. 24 July 2022. Cycling Tips.
16. News: Illi Gardner breaks Everesting record in 8 hours 33 minutes. Caley. Fretz. 15 August 2021. Cycling Tips.
17. Web site: Emma Pooley . Everesting Hall of Fame . 8 July 2020 . Hells 500 .
18. Web site: Hannah Rhodes . Everesting Hall of Fame . Hells 500 . 4 June 2020 .
19. Web site: Lauren De Crescenzo . Everesting Hall of Fame . Hells 500 . 31 May 2020 .
20. Web site: Katie Hall . Everesting Hall of Fame . Hells 500 . 23 May 2020 .
21. Web site: Alice Thompson . Everesting Hall of Fame . Hells 500 . 19 August 2018 .
22. Web site: Alisa MacDonald . Everesting Hall of Fame . Hells 500 . 31 July 2017 .
23. News: De Neef, Matt . Ronan McLaughlin has smashed the Everesting record in 6hours 40minutes . Cycling Tips . 30 March 2021 .
24. Web site: Everesting Hall of Fame . Sean Gardner . 3 October 2020 . Hells 500 .
25. News: Treloar . Iain . New Everesting World record set under 7 hours by Sean Gardner . 3 October 2020 . Cycling Tips . 3 October 2020.
26. Web site: Nathan Earle . Everesting Hall of Fame . 2021-07-20 . Hells 500 .
27. Web site: Everest Challenge. Verified time just in, 07:10:10. Thx everyone for the support & over $6k raised for MRC Tas - Nathan Earle's 152.6 km bike ride . 20 July 2021 . Strava . en-US.
28. News: Treloar . Iain . Alberto Contador breaks Everesting record with time of 7:27:20 . 1 August 2020 . Cycling Tips . 10 July 2020.
29. Web site: Everesting Hall of Fame . Lachlan Morton . 20 June 2020 . 20 June 2020 . Hells 500 .
30. Web site: Morning Ride . . 21 June 2020.
31. Web site: Keegan Swenson . Everesting Hall of Fame . Hells 500 . 15 May 2020 .
32. Web site: Phil Gaimon . Everesting Hall of Fame . Hells 500 . 11 May 2020 .
33. News: Everesting: A new mountain to climb for cyclists. 4 November 2015.
34. News: The First Man To Ride A Bicycle Up Everest, From His Den. 19 June 2015. Gizmodo. 4 November 2015.
35. Web site: Korona Himálaje . 2022-03-07 . Korona Himálaje . en-GB.
36. Web site: Everesting - Fox Creek Rd - Benny JJ . Veloviewer. https://web.archive.org/web/20180227034810/https://veloviewer.com/everesting/540488696. 27 February 2018 . dead. 16 June 2017.
37. Web site: Ben Soja . www.facebook.com . en . 2018-03-11 . 2018-03-14.
38. News: What It's Like to "Everest" on Mount Everest. August 2018. Bicycling.
39. Web site: Cresta X151 5 dias EVERESTING (X6) . 8 June 2022 . strava.com.