INSPIRED BY EVEREST
Yet keen to support something, Andy looked for a solution. “It needed a framework where people could replicate whatever the ride was in their own back yard.
“I’d always been passionate about mountaineering and had read about George Mallory, the grandson of the George Mallory, who died attempting to climb Everest in 1924. Seventy years on, George junior had biked up and down Australia’s Mount Donna Buang 10 times until he’d climbed the height of Everest. It all sort of clicked. With simple rules, people could do it anywhere – from Italy’s Stelvio Pass to 200 times up Swain’s Lane in north London. George even gave us his blessing.”
On the last weekend of February in 2014, 65 hardy souls from around the globe took to their saddles. Around 30 were successful. “I knew if one of us did it, it’d get a lot of attention, but 30! We made spreads in the national press, there’s been constant interest ever since.”
None more so than in the past 12 months since the onset of coronavirus and the global cancellation of organised events. The beauty of the concept is its simplicity. Just tot up your total ascent riding the same hill time upon time and with echoes of the Beastie Boys, there can be no sleep ’til Brooklyn...
… which neatly segue ways us to our next stop, the New York borough of Manhattan, and the garage of IOS tutor and St Lucian-born Alex Paul. Having completed every virtual Ironman race in 2020, Alex was looking for his next challenge. It was time to enter the Zwift world of Watopia on a journey up Alpe Du Zwift, a simulation of the legendary Alpine col, Alpe d’Huez, with its 21 switchbacks that have provided so much Tour de France drama.
Alex geared up to start a virtual Everesting in the early hours of New Year’s Day, napping 3hrs prior to midnight, awoken at 11.30pm by his wife with a glass of champagne to celebrate the ball drop in Time Square, before, with maps of Watopia and a poster of Everest pinned to the wall, setting up the bike for 8.5 ascents of Alpe Du Zwift. “It seemed beyond anything I’d ever done,” he says. “It’s a serious climb. One ascent takes anywhere from 1hr to 90mins. I decided to do five continuously a fortnight before the big day and document it all. My blog has been very active lately as everyone is looking to Everest.”