Intensive training to reach the heights
A doctor from Sydney has become the first person to complete 100 Everestings, which involves riding up and down one hill until you have hit the height of Mount Everest (8848m).
A humble, soft-spoken children’s intensive care doctor from Sydney has become the first person to complete 100 Everestings, the brutal cycling challenge that involves riding up and down one hill repeatedly until you have hit the height of Mount Everest (8848m).
Jonathan ‘‘Jono’’ Egan, 50, of West Ryde in the city’s northwestern suburbs, achieved the feat last week after a year when the cycling world went Everesting-crazy.
It’s a singular milestone and a feat of endurance, commitment and sheer bloody-mindedness unlikely to ever be equalled or even attempted.
With the pro-cycling tour cancelled and cyclists subject to lockdowns in many countries, solo pursuits such as Everesting gained cachet, and an arms race to do the fastest Everesting broke out between bored professional riders.
Egan usually takes between 12 and 13 hours to complete his Everestings, which require an exceptional level of physical fitness and mental fortitude.
Melbourne’s Andy van Bergen, who runs the Everesting.cc and Hells500 websites is the man who certifies each official Everesting and is the originator of the concept, launched in 2014. He professes to being gobsmacked by Egan’s feat.
“You have to realise, this is one of the toughest things you can possibly do in terms of physical endeavours, to do one is incredibly impressive, to do two or more is something else. To do five or 10 is crazy,’’ he said.
Egan has completed his Everestings on Australian cycling’s most celebrated climbs, including Falls Creek, Charlotte Pass, Mount Buffalo, and Adelaide’s Corkscrew and Willunga, and on the most anonymous suburban streets.
“I’ve been swooped by owls, had to dodge snakes, koalas, wombats. I hit a kangaroo once,” Egan says.
Why does he put himself through such repeated hardship?
“I just enjoy it. And it certainly provides a great release and balance to the stress and strain of work. It’s good to test your limits.’’
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