Everest-like climb aims to raise money for sick Southland kids

Two young Kiwis have set themselves the challenge of cycling up Mt Everest in a bid to raise money for charity.

Well, not literally up Mt Everest. Instead, South Island residents Myles Gibson and his buddy Mick have taken on the popular challenge of "Everesting".

That is, to pick a hill, anywhere in the world and climb it repeatedly until you reach 8848m in a single session – the equivalent height of Mt Everest.

Gibson and Mick have also thrown in an extra degree of difficulty.

Rather than choosing a nice, smooth road to climb, they've decided to go up and down a famous mountain bike track - the McNearly Gnarly jump trail in Queenstown.

That meant the pair started the challenge 3pm yesterday and were planning to continue to battle through the mud and freezing cold for 22 hours until about 1pm today.

So why on earth would they want to do this?

To raise as much money as possible for Heart Kids Southland, a charity that supports children born with heart defects.

And the challenge shouldn't be all hard work. The McNearly Gnarly trail is one of the country's most fun tracks to go down with plenty of jumps and fast corners.

Talk about a unique way to jump into the hearts of ill children.

Donations can be made here.