Climber’s eyes on Everest

ON TOP: Lloyd Hales climbed the world's sixth highest peak Mt Cho Oyu in Tibet in 2011 as a 60-year-old (pictured). Now as a 64-year-old he has his sights set on the big one, Mount Everest. File picture

WAINUI Beach resident Lloyd Hales has his sights on the summit of Mount Everest in the new year and he is doing all the hard yards he can to make sure he gets there.

The 64-year-old mountaineer plans to make the climb in April and he is a regular at the YMCA as he builds his fitness and stamina levels.

He is also a regular runner around Gisborne streets and on the stairs up and down the Makorori Headland or Te Kuri Farm walkway.

More often than not he is wearing a 25kg pack on his back.

“The tickets are booked and barring any catastrophes in that part of the world between now and then, I will be ready to join my guiding party for the Everest attempt,” Mr Hales said.

“Every mountaineer wants to crack that one.”

He has been climbing mountains for 15 to 20 years.

“I’m halfway through the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent on the planet.”

An impressive list of peaksSo far in that challenging group he has climbed Mt Kilimanjaro (5895m) in Tanzania, Aconcagua (6961m) in Argentina in the Andes and Mt McKinley or Denali (6194m) in Alaska.

Still to go he has Everest (8848m), Mt Elbrus (5642m) in Russia, Puncak Jaya in Indonesia (4884m) and Mt Vinson (4892m) in Antarctica.

Mr Hales has also been to the top of Mt Fuji in Japan, Mt Kinabalu in Borneo (the tallest mountain in SE Asia) and the sixth-highest ranked world peak Mt Cho Oyu in Tibet.

“I summited Mount McKinley, or Denali, in July this year. That’s a difficult mountain to climb because you’ve got to carry everything up it yourself.

“I was unable to complete my attempt on Denali in 2013 because of bad weather so it was just great to finally get up there this year.”

Mr Hales said he tries to take on a big mountain every year and “it’s all about the summit”.

“But the expeditions are also about visiting diverse cultures and being included in their religious customs. Life in the climbing camps, where you spend a lot of time acclimatising to the lack of oxygen, can be very rewarding — meeting other climbers from all over the world.”

Mt Everest from TibetHe plans to climb Mt Everest from the Tibetan side.

“It’s more difficult from that side because it’s colder and increasingly more technical above high camp higher up. The success rate to reach the summit is lower than from the Nepalese side. On the plus side, the climb from the Tibetan side is a lot less crowded.”

Mr Hales learned his mountaineering skills on the Tasman Glacier in Mount Cook National Park.

“Funnily enough, Mt Cook is one mountain I haven’t summited yet. Mt Cook is a challenging climb but it’s not on my immediate target list.”

He trains six days a week for his alpine adventures.

“I allow myself one day off a week and on every other day of the week I concentrate on different strength and endurance training.

“Each day’s training is different.”

He recently completed the half and quarter marathons in Gisborne. Mr Hales said the ‘Y’ was a good place to go for fitness and strength work.

“I ride my bike in and out from Wainui as well, to add to the workload.”

He can quite often be seen towing a sled across the grassed areas around the YMCA, with 35kg of weight on it, while wearing that 25kg pack on his back.

All about the legs“It’s all about the legs and building stamina into them.” Mr Hales retired some years ago after 30 years as a test driver for MG Rover in the United Kingdom.

“I go back to the UK before every climb to finish off my training in the Scottish highlands.”

The super-fit 64-year-old reckons he will keep doing what he loves as long as he can.

“Even after the mountains get beyond me, I will want to keep trekking. Every year it becomes more difficult physically. But hopefully I’ve got enough left in me to summit Everest.”