Explorer Tim Jarvis takes us all on his mountain climbs with 25zero

AUSTRALIAN adventurer and polar explorer Tim Jarvis is inviting everyone along on his latest mountain-climbing expedition, 25zero.

Adelaide adventurer and polar explorer Tim Jarvis at Carstensz Pyramid in West Papua, the first of three equatorial glacial mountains he will tackle during during the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris.

AUSTRALIAN adventurer and polar explorer Tim Jarvis is inviting everyone along on his latest mountain-climbing expedition, 25zero.

As he climbs three of the remaining 25 mountains with glaciers at the equator, anyone with an iPhone 6, anywhere in the world, can match the feat with their own footsteps.

“Kids and adults alike can climb a local hill, or the stairs in their office building or something like that to the equivalent height of the mountains that we are climbing,” Jarvis said.

“The app records the amount of climbing they do and gives them credit if they manage it. It’s cumulative, so you can go up and down Mount Lofty 15 times or take lots of flights of stairs.”

The SA-made app 25zero Virtual Climbs was finally released on Wednesday after rigorous

testing with Apple.

Come climb with me ... How the 25zero app includes you in the adventure.

But the real climbers couldn’t wait that long. They have been sending compelling images and messages to the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) underway in Paris all week.

Jarvis has already scaled Carstensz Pyramid in West Papua. Next is Mount Stanley in Uganda.

“The explorer Stanley called them the Mountains of the Moon because they appeared to be white, from a distance, and the reason for that was because they had snow on them,” Jarvis said. “That snow and the glaciers are melting fast, because of human induced climate change. We want to climb them to show people what has happened and try and instil a sense of urgency in doing something about the issue.”

The third and final climb will be Chimborazo in Ecuador.

With 25zero, Jarvis is making the case for a binding and meaningful agreement on climate change, “the biggest threat facing humanity”.

“Melting glacial ice is one of the clearest indicators of this complex issue. Nowhere is it more apparent than where you’d least expect to find ice — at the equator,” he said.

“There are now only 25 mountains with glaciers at the equator. Within a quarter of a century these glaciers will be gone due to climate change — in some cases, far sooner. Put simply: 25 Mountains. Zero latitude. 25 years. Zero ice.”

Follow their progress at http://www.25zero.com/ or search for 25zero at the App store.

Ice challenge ... Where to next?

HOW IT WORKS

The application uses HealthKit, an Apple platform that organises and stores your health and fitness data.

When you share your health information with 25zero, the app uses your elevation data to plot your climb progress against a geographically correct, virtual representation of the real mountain.

At each checkpoint, they can view data and media content from the real climb team, which will include videos, text messages and then-and-now images of the glaciers.

Simply turn on the app, choose your mountain and away you go.