The Half Everest Challenge

Here’s a challenge ride with a difference. Usually, the challenge is the distance you ride, but this one is based on climbing. It was inspired partly by the endless fantastic climbs we have on our doorstep, but also by the craze for “Everesting”.

What is a “Half-Everest” Ride?

Everest is 8848m high, and Everesting is doing a ride, in one go with that amount of climbing. It’s usually done by riding up and down the same hill for the best part of 24 hours, but I don’t really want to do that, I want the ride to be interesting as well as hard. So I started to think about doing a gravel Everest, by stringing together all the best climbs in our area. A few minutes on a calculator told me that it wouldn’t work – gaining altitude on a rocky gravel trail is much harder and slower than on road, so it wouldn’t be possible, even in 24 hours. People have Everested on gravel, but they’ve done it on smooth gravel roads and have been very gifted endurance riders. They’ve also been very familiar with the trail so have been able to descend in the dark with no problems. None of that applies here, so I needed to think again. My solution was the half Everest, a ride with 4424m of climbing in the shortest distance possible. No climb will be repeated, and as much of the climbing as possible will be off road.

The Best Climbs, Incredible Views

To make this route work, I’ve looped up and down our valley joining all the climbs together. It’s a glorious route, full of amazing climbs and endless breathtaking views. It’s also completely insane, and I’m not sure I can do it myself. I’ve never been the best at climbing and I’m not getting any younger.

To do this, you’d need to start at dawn, have a really low gear and be very fit!

If you want to ride this route, you’ll need to book a cycling holiday with us. Let us know and we’ll base your programme around this big day!