Movember Everest Challenge

Two weeks have passed since finishing the big challenge and Movember is done for another year. The Metro Tasmania team raised a combined $3515 for the charity. Great effort by all. I am very grateful to all that donated and supported my effort over the week. Each of my climbs relied on a ride home from the summit and would not have been possible without them. I want to thank my wife in particular who picked me up a few times and offered a lot of other support, food and encouragement. I also wish to thank my team at Metro who also did some pickups, carried me through the week and offered great support. Thanks guys, you're the best. Thanks also to Movember Metro team captain Olivia Aitchison for all her efforts to promote and encourage the team, and for spending a freezing morning at the summit on Point to Pinnacle day. Thanks too to all my other colleagues that supported and assisted my effort.
It was a great experience and I will soon post some more pics of the adventure. What a privilege it was to spend time in that magnificent natural environment.

Day 7 - It's Done! Following my final walk in the annual Point to Pinnacle, I added a further 1295 metres to bring me to the grand tally of 9049 metres. This exceeds my goal of 8848 to surpass the elevation of Mt Everest. Thanks to all for your kind donations I have also easily passed my $1000 target for the Movember charity.
The weather forecast predicted a miserable day of rain for the Point to Pinnacle but after some early rain before the start, it held off all day and turned out to be perfect conditions for walking & running. It was very windy and cold up high and on the summit but didn't have much effect during the climb. I walked the first half with a friend from Metro and after so many lone treks, really enjoyed and appreciated the company. I then slipped in to my "challenge pace" and took off ahead. It was still nice having so many people around. I didn't find the walk too hard after so much conditioning but it is still a long way & I was glad to finish and get the job done. I was greeted at the finish by my wife and our Comms Officer & Movember team captain, Olivia Aitchison. We then headed back on a nice warm Metro bus to the Casino & headed home to food, family and a well-earned glass of scotch.
Thanks again to all that assisted and donated and stay tuned for some further pics of the big adventure.

Day 6 - Almost there! Today I had the luxury of walking to the Chalet at 1000 metres elevation after a double summit on Thursday. Now leaves only the Point to Pinnacle walk to achieve my target of 8848 metres to match the elevation of Mt Everest. It has been a monumental undertaking and I have a lot of people to thank who have supported and sponsored me. I will do this privately but they have all contributed to my effort to reach my goal. I have also surpassed my $1000 target for Movember.
Some of the freakishly fit and talented people that regularly do ultra running and similar events would look at this feat as a light training exercise but this has been very tough but extremely rewarding, from the physical achievement side, but also to have spent so much time on our beautiful mountain. Tasmania's weather has thrown everything at me this past week, from deep snow, high winds, sleet, hail to warm sunshine and unimaginable stillness. It has been exhausting, but an absolute pleasure.
An admin notice has threatened to shut this page down shortly for reasons unexplained but if it does not occur, I will post a bunch of pictures and some video of my expeditions.
Thanks to all for your kind words and encouragement.

Day 5 - Nearly done! After Thursday's double effort, this was my last summit climb before Sunday's Point to Pinnacle. Completed in beautiful, sunny weather with a sharp lookout for snakes catching some rays. A little sad that it's nearly all done but looking forward to a lighter climb for Day 6 and resting the weary body. I can, after all, come back to this beautiful mountain anytime and I certainly will. I have now achieved 6823 metres of elevation of the required 8848 to match Everest. The Point to Pinnacle should register the full 1271 metres which leaves only a climb to the Chalet (1000m) which gets me around another 930m from my starting point. Getting close

Day 4 - After being denied a summit climb on day 2 due to snow & road closures, I was behind the game. Day 3 allowed a return to normal and a successful, but snowy summit climb. On Day 4, I took a day of leave from my job, intending to do an early walk and have some recovery. I did my morning walk achieving 4462 metres, again freezing and snowy on top, but as the weather was clearing, I set off at around 2:30pm to attempt a second climb. I wanted to challenge myself further and to get some extra altitude in the bank. Weary from all the constant climbing and not fully recovered from the morning, I found this incredibly tough but slowly kept at it to arrive at the summit at around 5:30pm, achieving 5642 metres. Despite the difficulty, parts of this climb were really beautiful, and I was walking (trudging) in warm sunlight for bits of the second half. A lot of the snow had melted off from the Panorama track on top.
It was one of the hardest things I have ever done but now I have the luxury of a summit walk today, Day 5, and only have to get to the Chalet, (1000m) on Saturday and I get to have some R&R on Saturday afternoon to recover for the Point to Pinnacle on Sunday.

Thank you so much to all of the people that have left nice comments and given me encouragement. Thanks also to those for your generous donations. We've nearly hit my personal $$ target.
The body is holding up ok and it is becoming a mental game of endurance as much as anything so please be assured that your support and encouragement means a lot and is inspiring me to push through. I have made another summit this morning and may attempt another this afternoon. We'll see. Stay tuned for Day 4 & thanks again.

Day 3 - Road to the summit opened during the day so set off about 3pm. A little weary but pushed on to the summit & met my ride home. A lot of the snow melted lower down but on the Panorama Track, the last one to the summit, very deep snow & very difficult to see the track. Also snowing heavily while walking. Pretty familiar with the track though from my training so found my way. Will post some more pix later as I am attempting another summit climb early this morning. 3285 metres of elevation achieved so far.

Day 2, plans changing. After a big snowfall overnight the Pinnacle Rd was closed from the Springs meaning that my ride home had to collect me from there. I made the decision to still climb to the Chalet (1000m), giving me 928 metres of elevation from my starting point. I made the call in the name of safety as I know from experience that to summit would still be achievable but with my time constraints would mean picking my way back through deep snow in the dark. The risk and extra 2+ hours is not worth the extra 250 m of elevation.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast is poor and is not looking good for the Point to Pinnacle. I will try my hardest to make the elevation by Sunday with some double walks but still don't know if I will make it in 7 days. I will certainly do my best and will continue to climb until I achieve the required 8848 metres but I am not prepared to risk my life to do it so I am prepared to maybe extend my time by a couple of days. Disappointing but Mother Nature is in charge and always wins.

Day 1 done & dusted! After rain all day it was pretty light on the trail. Of more concern was the high wind which was throwing some debris around and cracking a few branches. At the summit, away from any cover, the icy wind was gale-force and I was unable to stand up in the summit marker without holding on tight. The sky had cleared briefly but it was savage. I got a quick snap from down below and jumped into a warm car. The walk was tough as always but feeling ok and nice to get the first one done.

Things are livening up for Movember Team Metro. Lead admirably by Captain Olivia Aitchison, the publicity machine has swung into action which will hopefully get some donations rolling in. You can support the team here:
https://movember.com/t/metro-tasmania?mc=1