After his bicycle carried Jim Joynes up and down the Lutsen Ski Hill 49 straight times, Jim felt compelled to celebrate his bike and give it a celebratory hoist in the air. Jim took on the Everesting challenge and managed to bike the equivalent of hiking 29,054 feet up Mount Everest in one day. In all Jim pedaled and rode for almost 17 hours. Photo courtesy of Jim Joynes
What were you doing at 1 a.m. on Sunday, July 12? Sleeping, right? Or if you were up, it probably had little do with improving your fitness or attempting a difficult physical challenge.
For Jim Joynes and Mark Barrett, 1 a.m. was the start of a long day riding their bikes up and down the Lutsen Ski Hill road.
Both men were attempting a feat called Everesting, a new spin on climbing Mount Everest.
Everesting, said Jim, is something you might associate with one of the other local climbing adventurers. This has a little different twist.
Everesting is the latest worldwide craze in endurance challenges. The concept is simple, you can ride your bike or run. Pick a hill and repeat it as many times as needed to accumulate the total elevation, in vertical feet, of Mount Everest: 29,029 feet. You can rest, but you can’t sleep. It must be competed in a single effort.
After looking at various hills to bike, Jim and Mark picked the Lutsen Ski Hill Road. From bottom to top, the elevation gain is 600 feet. That meant they would have to climb the hill 49 times.
The sign says it all. Jim Joynes was on his bike for 16 hours 41 minutes, covering 175.3 miles. He averaged 10.5 miles per hour with a max speed of 43.5 miles per hour when he was coming down the Ski Hill Road.
Knowing it would be a long day, they started their challenge at 1 a.m. Jim said, “I’ve never ridden in the middle of the night, but it was amazingly peaceful and beautiful. I saw the moon rise and then the sun rise, both casting awakening shadows on Moose Mountain.”
Mark completed 25 climbs to earn a half-Everesting. Jim went on to complete the 49 climbs needed to Everest. His last ascent came at 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening. Statistics for the ride include: Total moving time of 16 hours and 41 minutes. Total miles ridden were 175.3. Average speed was 10.5 mph. The total number of vertical feet was 29,581. The reward? The satisfaction of completing the challenge and your name being added to the Everesting Hall of Fame.
Jim had considered climbing the Gunflint Trail, but high traffic and lack of a bike lane made it unsafe. As a comparison, the elevation gain in the first 3 miles of the Gunflint Trail is 800 vertical ft. Everesting would have required 37 climbs. For perspective, the famed Triple By Pass in Colorado has a total elevation gain of about 11,000 feet, the Pike’s Peak trail gains about 7800 feet, and Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano trail has a vertical rise of about 13,600 feet.
When asked why someone would Everest, Jim added, “With all the events cancelled this summer, we needed something to look forward to and something to challenge us.” Two weeks ago, both men, their wives, and Mark’s daughter completed the Lutsen 99er’s virtual race, called the Lone Wolf Challenge. Friends through biking, these families are finding ways to challenge each other, stay active, and stay safe. More information about Everesting can be found at www.Everesting.cc.
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