Everesting

Thread for this silly hill-climbing thing. See: https://everesting.cc/

@veganjoseph has done one fixed. I think @scultura has done one? Any others?

It's been on my todo list for a few years and I'm heading to Teide in Tenerife again next year which could be a chance to get it done. Big 2000m+ climb means I don't have to do some piddly London(ish) climb 8000 times. Thoughts?

I've done it on a road bike (Kop Hill in the Chilterns, ~100m reps) and later on a fixed gear (Telegraph Hill, South London, ~40m reps).

Coincidentally, my first ever attempt was in Tenerife on the north side from Puerto de la Cruz. The long reps made it incredibly hard. Got to half-Everest then quit. Differences in temperature, no real breaks whilst climbing, logistics of food/water and storage of clothes/batteries/tools all make long reps very difficult. Short reps are by far superior if you want to successfully complete the challenge.

Kop Hill - wow - what a bastard!
What does 100m reps mean? 100 million repetitions...?

I have to say I've had Everesting on my To Not Do list since I first heard about it. But I reckon it must be easier / less hard with a big hill like Tiede rather than a smaller / bastardish hill like Kop. Edit - I've actually just read the rest of VJ's post and realise that what I have written is totally wrong.

Repetitions of 100m ascent? E.g, do 80 repetitions to get to 8000m.

Hmm, I guess the descents would mean you cool down quite a lot before restarting. I'm not sure it's high enough on my todo list to make me want to do reps of something in the Chilterns though, just figured 4x climbs of Teide would be a bit easier mentally.

You're allowed to stop on ascents though right? Depend on which climb I use I would probably just be stopping to refill food/drink on the way up at bars/cafes.

Do u even metric bro?

Which itinerary would you take? The steep bits from the West, or the longer route from the NE?

You seem to think that I've thought about this? My current plan is:
Arrive in Tenerife
Check in
Get drunk
Put bike together
Get more durnk
Sleep
Start climbing Teide
Stop climbing/descending Teide until I can't be arsed or 8888m has been reached.

Where I start from will depend on where we stay which hasn't been sorted yet.

That was foolish of me. In tarmac news you'll be pleased to hear that the TF38 has been recently resurfaced (so you can still feel like you're riding on Mars, but without thinking you should have brought a Mars rover).

Yeah, they were doing the resurfacing work when I was there back in, erm, whenever it was, March I think.

Repetitions of 100m ascent? E.g, do 80 repetitions to get to 8000m.

80 times up Kop Hill...!
@veganjoseph, you may have ridden round Australia on fixed, and done a 24-hour shift on Uber Eats, but that is serious hard core.

I actually ended up doing 98 reps of Kop Hill - which is ~100 metres of vertical gain per ascent.

I think short reps are far easier mentally. 'Reps to go' are a figment of the imagination but a 3+ hour climb up a mountain is a very real thing. It destroys you.

With short reps you get a break every few minutes, you don't get too cold on descents, you don't get too hot on ascents and you get to have a base camp with clothes / food / tools / supplies / shelter so you don't need to do much logistical planning or carry much, or anything, with you.

Anyway, you'll be glad to know that Everesting is far, far easier than a 24-hour TT. At least for me, mentally. You have a set distance so unless you're trying to break a record there's not really much stress, you just chip away at it at your own pace. Whereas with an ultra race or TT you feel like every second spent off the bike is this mad stressful rush.

It destroys you.

Therein lies the beauty of not giving much of a fuck. I can start it and if it sucks, as you've mentioned, I can always have another crack on some other, smaller lump. I just figured I'm going to 'rife without a training plan, why not have a crack at it.

I actually ended up doing 98 reps of Kop Hill

How long did it take? (serious question)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyR7HYaiC_c

I everested Le Rosier last year. 40 reps. https://www.strava.com/activities/1019647569
As Joseph said, it is not thàt hard when you're used to doing long rides and there are no steep sections on the Rosier. Just a steady 20 minute climb and a 5 minute descent. Even managed a PR on the final ascent. Hardest part was at night in the pouring rain.

I did half an everest in 2015 as a test on the Kanarieberg. That has a short 14% section which made it way too hard. So that's why I decided to do Le Rosier. https://www.strava.com/activities/374914191

Nice little tool to plan your attempt btw: https://everesting.io/

Picking a random segment of the climb it's ~4.8 laps which could take anywhere from 12hr to 22hr depending on climb speed, descent speed and stops.

That was foolish of me. In tarmac news you'll be pleased to hear that the TF38 has been recently resurfaced

Oh, that is very, very nice to hear!

Morton has set a new record and at altitude!

Yeah, 7.5hrs or so. He'd tried before but aborted it I think.

https://twitter.com/EFprocycling/status/1272577231630610434

https://www.efprocycling.com/lachlan-morton-breaks-everesting-record/

after doing

https://www.efprocycling.com/11-hours-and-14-minutes/

He's good isnt he.

I’m pretty tempted to give it a go.
Seems like finding the right hill for yourself, is a fair sized part of the challenge.

That and having a fucking huge W/kg.

I assume you are talking about Everesting not going for the record though. I got Zwift as I was going to do a vEverest but having done that fundraising month there's no fucking way I'm spending more than 2hrs on the turbo in a day for the foreseeable. Outdoor one would be nicer but trying to find one away from London but still supportable is a pain. I've got my car back now so could drive somewhere with car stocked and do laps. I'd want a straight, shallower hill. One of the valley roads in Wales would be good.

You want a castle at the top of the hill.