Conquering Titirangi: ninth Mt Everest Challenge starts Monday

EMPTY NOW BUT WAIT TILL MONDAY: Titirangi/Kaiti Hill is expected to be abuzz with people — all observing Level 2 rules of course — when the Titirangi Mt Everest Challenge starts on Monday. Picture by Ben Cowper

Registrations are being taken for the 2021 edition of the Titirangi Mt Everest Challenge, which starts on Monday.

Participants have seven weeks to go up and down Kaiti Hill/Titirangi 68 times — the equivalent of scaling Mount Everest — to complete the challenge. The event officially runs from October 4 to November 21.

Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti event and recreation adviser Debbie Hutchings said the kaupapa of the event is a personal journey, rather than a competition or race.

Participants are encouraged to set goals that challenge themselves, whether that be 20 climbs or 100.

While there is an end date to the challenge, participants can continue their journey unofficially, however long it takes to reach “their summit”.

Covid tracing will be available, as well as separate QR codes for a participant to check-in and log their climbs.

Any ascent of a hill counts towards your total climbs. You just have to divide how high you climbed by 130, the height of Titirangi, Debbie said.

“For those feeling the pressures of lockdowns and closed borders, this event can offer a sense of belonging and connectedness to Tairawhiti. The event is free and open to all ages.”

This year is the event's ninth iteration.

It was created by Sean and Fiona Shivnan from Sean Shivnan Pharmacy to raise awareness and funds for people with bowel cancer in the Tairawhiti region through Gisborne East Coast Cancer Society.

The first edition featured 50 participants. Last year, 2083 participants from 199 teams collectively climbed Titirangi 20,502 times for a combined height twice the cruising altitude of commercial airliners.

The event is able to go ahead under Alert Level 2 with public health measures in place. Guidelines state that under Level 2 face masks are not mandatory while exercising, two-metre social distancing must be adhered to and good hygiene practised.

“We ask our community to be patient and make space when letting people pass in narrower areas, and to be considerate of one another and people's bubbles,” Debbie said.

This year the community will benefit from the significant environmental restoration work that has taken place on Titirangi through Gisborne District Council, Ngati Oneone and Whaia Titirangi.

Improvements made include a permanent one-way system for vehicles, a designated path for walkers and the introduction of seats and a water fountain.

Those yet to register can do so on the Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti website by going to the “get active” menu and selecting “events”.