Have there been any unicycle Everesting attempts since Ben Soja’s 23 hour completion in 2018(Strava Link)? I’m looking to give it a go in a couple weeks here and am curious if this is still the fastest known time or if anybody has done it since.
For those unfamiliar, Everesting is doing the elevation of Everest, 29029ft or 8848m, in one ride going up and down a singular climb.
About once or twice a year, I put some local(-ish) hills into the everesting calculator and think about if I could do it and what would be the best strategy, so I’ll be following along.
Beating Ben’s time is never realistic for me, even with optimistic planning for quite short breaks I end up over 24 hours. (Which given that I know Ben is fitter than me is in some strange way confirmation that my assumptions are not that far off).
Since I only have small hills, I’m thinking that a “many different setups” strategy where I rotate through crank lengths and freewheel/fixed might actually be nice. Objectively, Schlumpf is probably still the best option, fast while probably requiring a little less focus than a freewheel…
Update: I completed the Everest in just about 21 hours. Strava activity is public, though still waiting for processing from Hells500(hoping for no gps errors). This was easily the most difficult thing I’ve done a unicycle or bicycle. A few notes:
Equipment: I did this on a 26" Muni with 150mm cranks. I didn’t have a geared Schlumpf hub for this, which led to the downhills being terribly inefficient. Climbing pace remained somewhat consistent, but descending pace varied a lot more as fatigue and brake pad levels fluctuated.
Route: I chose a 9% average grade hill with 219 feet per lap. Ended up being a little over 130 laps. While the climb only averaged 9%, there were steep pitches that hit 18% which required near-maximal effort each lap, which took a toll on my knees and ankles at the hours ticked by.
Overall quite ecstatic about this effort. Props to Ben for inspiring this.
My nutrition and break strategy was lot less planned than ideal when looking back. For eating, I did not eat at any set interval. Instead I simply consumed enough to reach the limit of what my digestive system could reasonably handle and kept eating as soon as I could stomach it. Foods included a lot of Cliff Bars, bagels, and Halloween candy I got on discount. For stopping time, I ended up with around 2.5 hours at the end. In the first 10-11 hours, I only stopped for around 45 minutes in total to change out bibs, use the bathroom, and periodically get water/food. As the ride went on, I ended up taking longer and more frequent breaks to ice ankles/knees and relieve general fatigue.
Congratulations on this amazing achievement! It’s fantastic to see someone else take on this challenge and complete it, while also setting the new record. With so many laps, it must have been quite the mental challenge. Well done!
Thanks! Glad to join some prestigious company for this challenge. Perhaps somebody else crazy enough will shave off some more time in the future and help turn this into a competitive record.
I kind of think about it.
My personnal best on something similar is the vertical kilometer on wich I was just under 2 hours (actually the hill is 98 meters high, so it was 980 meters climb in 1:57:38).
So it might be doable to beat your time (considering no break it would be 17:42:04).
But I also want to go for the 12 hours WR once @GizmoDuck will have set it, and for the 24 hours afterwards. I guess training for one should help for the others.
About a half hour climb is what I’ve decided to be ideal for me. I have a segment in mind now, 338m of elevation with 8.3% average grade should be ~30 min at a pace that is very sustainable. Also gives sufficient time to recover on the downhill.
That would give the opportunity to easily resupply with food and drink often enough, while also not not being super repetitive. Still puts me close to the distance of my longest rides on a bike, and far above any unicycle ride…
Has one of you thought about using a freewheel for the downhill part? I’m really considering it, as it may help to recover a bit faster. However, we’d have to have a set of extra pads. Just in case…
I think I want to bring both, freewheel and fixed, so I can switch to the “safer” fixed when I’m tired.
If I owned a Schlumpf, I’d add that too. I would think Schlumpf and freewheel would be similar effort and speed DH though, at least for a safe descent, something I’d test beforehand.
I’d also bring all the crank lengths I have, just to have options to adjust for fatigue.
I had thought about having an Everesting attempt, but will get the 12 and 24hr records out the way first. Guinness has a 12hr unicycle world record category for elevation climbed, so that could be something for @Aurelian to think about.
I have to admit that when I read your first post, I thought :
This is the first time Mason has posted — let’s welcome them to our community! : who is he? what experience does he have? does he want to do it on a unicycle?
It’s impossible, if @muni_ben did it in 23 hours, no one else can do it!
Does he know that an everesting must be complete in 24 hours?
I’m betting all my savings that he won’t make it
When I read your 2nd post, with the strava link and the pictures, I thought :
With a 26” without gear!?
With a studded tire?!
There must be an error in the GPS data
Where have all my savings gone???
I’m still in shock. You’re making such a ultra difficult challenge seem like a Sunday ride!
It gives everyone the feeling that it can be done! It’s brilliant! It took you 2 hours less than Ben with a poorly optimized unicycle, that’s crazy!
I wouldn’t have thought of doing that on such a short climb, but I think it was a really good choice.
Congratulations again!
I can’t wait to follow the next everesting attempts.