Technique

Tips for taking on your own Seven Summits challenge

Tips for taking on your own Seven Summits challenge

In February, I took the concept of Everesting one (or six) steps further with my virtual Seven Summits challenge. In seven days, I gained the elevation of each high point on every continent: Puncak Jaya, Denali, Aconcagua, Elbrus, Vinson Massif, Kilimanjaro and Everest. Climbing the real mountains is a known challenge among mountaineers. For me, it seemed so fitting: seven continents, seven days in a week and seven opportunities to push myself. With the pandemic stretching on and my desire to do a longer, harder event, this challenge seemed like a great idea. I chose to take a multisport approach, using running, skiing and cycling to accumulate the metres. In total, I did 43,431 m of climbing in 566 km and 55.5 hours of moving time. I’m planning to do a summer edition of the same challenge and you can, too. Here’s how.

Choose your hill wisely

I found that, for cycling, a grade of 10 to 15 per cent is ideal. Pick a hill with minimal turns and low traffic. The grade of your hill will dictate the gearing on your bike. Choose wisely. Expect to be riding around Zone 1 to 2 for most of the climbs.

Recruit help

Having someone to ride a few laps with you or to give you a couple snacks goes a long way.

Managing the elements

I ended up using the weather to dictate my challenge. On colder days, I would choose slower activities or shorter mountains. On my fat bike day in February (Elbrus, 5,642 m), it was -24 C when I started, which definitely made things tough. If you’ll be riding in 30 C heat this summer, make that a Puncak Jaya day (4,884 m).

Mix it up

I did a day on Zwift, a day on the fat bike, a day on the gravel bike, and ran and skied on the other days. Mixing it up on different hills, different terrains and different bikes made the challenge more interesting. It also gave me a break from being stuck in the same position all the time. For my summer summits, I’m going to do more biking and running, and possibly add in another sport.

“This challenge became an eating competition for me.”

Eat a lot

This challenge became an eating competition for me. I would try to eat every 20 minutes. Usually I would fuel at the bottom of the hill during the start of my climb.

Take your time, but not too much

I tried to enjoy myself as much as possible, but I also knew that the sooner I finished, the more sleep I would get. I tried to start between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. every day, which had me finishing between 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. (7 p.m. on the Everest day). I came into this challenge well-trained. Take stock of your fitness and budget your time accordingly. Don’t forget to give yourself enough time to do a little bike maintenance in the evening. All that climbing takes a toll.

Re-adjust the schedule

If you can’t spare seven days in a row, try doing the challenge on four consecutive weekends. Or, you could increase the recovery time by doing one peak per weekend.

Recover well

I found that recovery techniques were especially useful. Foam rolling, leg compression and loads of food were my staples. In the end, sleep was the best tool: I tried to get at least nine hours per night.

Part of my reason for doing this challenge was to take control in a time where it felt like the pandemic had taken that away from me. In the end, it was empowering to be able to do seven events without any of them getting cancelled. I hope you make the most out of your challenge.