Whanganui mountain biker climbs the height of Mt Everest in a day at local park

George Davey covered 220 kilometres to reach the 'summit'.

Whanganui mountain biker George Davey’s need for a personal challenge drove him to climb the height of Mt Everest in a day.

The pursuit is called Everesting, with runners and bike riders picking a hill and attempting to climb the equivalent of Everest’s 8848 metres over repeated laps in one day without stopping.

Davey enjoyed pushing his body “to see what I was capable of”.

For his attempt, he chose to ride at That Place mountain bike park on Kaiwhaiki Road - his favourite spot in the country.

“I wanted to do it at a place that I enjoyed riding so that’s why I chose it.”

It took him 21 hours to scale the mountain, covering 220 kilometres in the process.

The toughest part was not the physical effects of the continuous riding but the mental strength needed when he realised just how far he would have to go.

“At lunchtime, I’d done the most climbing I’d ever done in a day and I realised I’ve got to do triple that to get there.”

Davey’s father came out to support him and the trailmaker at That Place, Tom Okram, accompanied him for a couple of laps.

The most crucial aspect of the challenge was eating enough food to account for the massive calorie loss sustained from the continuous exercise, he said.

“You need to be eating around every half an hour just to keep your body going.

“I had a whole loaf of bread-worth of ham and cheese sandwiches.”

His father also cooked him sausages but not all made it.

“I had a couple, then a dog ate the whole lot so I ran out of sausages towards the end of the day, which was a shame.”

He is now preparing for his next challenge - the Tour Aotearoa, a 3000km bike-packing event from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

“You could say the Everesting was a bit of training for the Tour Aotearoa.

“It was pretty awesome to know that I could push my body to the limit and not struggle too hard.

“I’m going down the country, so I’m not constantly going up and down hills the whole time. There’ll be lots of flats and everything, but it’s such a long way that it’ll take its toll on the body towards the end.”

Davey will start the tour in February.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.