Mount Everest - The Ride

Mt. Everest Inspiration: The Ride - By Alex Leemon

How many times do you think Sir Edmund Hillary attempted to get to the summit of Mt. Everest? He started the climb two years earlier in 1951 after a life-long preparation, and even after much work, he didn’t get to the top until May of 1953. Faced with such an amazing task, he approached it as a journey, not just a destination. This magnificently positive outlook and dedication greatly aided in reaching his most acclaimed achievement: the first known man to reach the top of the tallest mountain in the world: Mount Everest.

The profile below is based on Josh Taylor’s inspiring 3-hour ride paying tribute to the Mountain and the incredible effort and dedication that it takes to climb it. Modified to fit a one-hour class and with a playlist specially picked by me for the population that attends my classes (you!) it is more than a workout, it is a riding experience.

Josh Taylor is a Master Instructor for the Spinning program and a professional cyclist. A seasoned athlete who has been competing at the highest levels of bike racing for over 15 years, Joshua is a two-time PA state road race champion and has raced against some of the top international cyclists in the world in events such as the San Francisco Grand Prix. Josh is currently a rider/ manager for the Rite Aid Pro Cycling Team.

Mt. Everest Strength (or Interval) Energy Zone Profile and Playlist:
The South Route to the Summit is the inspiration for this profile, which is divided is five segments: The journey begins in the charge for Base Camp, which is essentially the warm up. We’ll ride for 10 minutes progressively increasing resistance every minute until reaching a cadence of 80-100 rpms and 75% Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). This is the lowest heart rate in the entire session and we will build from this point on.

This class requires that students have trained previously and have taken the time to build a strong aerobic base. The ride from Base Camp to Camp I is treacherous as we pass by the Khumbu Icefall with Jumps-on a hill and a standing climb, this should take us about 15 minutes. Camps II, III and IV are similar in length but different in terrain. We’ll conquer these three camps and arrive at Camp IV in 15 minutes. This is the point on Mt. Everest where many people are left behind and only commitment and courage will carry a few souls to conquering the mountain.

The last 15 minutes will be the ascent to the Summit. As we ride past the point of no return, cadence will pick up. We’ll fight the clock and the weather and suddenly cadence will slow down when we are 5 minutes from the top. We’re there! Getting to the top is hard work, especially in the last five minutes, energy will dwindle, we’ll spend 5 minutes in the saddle at the top as an spiritual celebration and then the recovery and cool down process will follow.

The difficulty of climbing the real mountain cannot be compared with this profile, but it provides a rich and visual backdrop that we will refer to as we progressively climb for 55 minutes on the Spinner. Ideally, students would keep track of progress through out the mountain with a Heart Rate Monitor. The goal is to maintain a consistent pace while increasing resistance necessary to elevate heart rate by 5 beats approximately at every Camp, reaching 85% MHR at the Summit. This effort requires participants to remain aerobic as much as possible.

The actual movement in and out of the saddle will be adjusted as the session progresses, but it will be a combination of seated climb, standing climbs and jumps on a hill. One of the challenges in this class is avoiding cadences over 90 rpms after Base Camp. Optionally, for less fit individuals, a jump-on-a-hill track can be taken from the saddle as a challenging flat road after a short recovery period in between Camps II and IV. Consistency in pedal stroke is the key.

Playlist - By Alex Leemon

Elements of Life - DJ Tiesto
Blue - Lantour
Don’t Do Anything - Nacho Sotomayor
Spiral Dance - Tulku
Through the Barricades- Seven Seas
Breathe - Telepopmusik
Terra Firma - Delerium
Track 09 - Cross the Alps #1
Essarai - Cantoma
Rhytmos - Astrix & Lior Miller
Star of Hirma - Allain Bougrain Dubourg
Kalandero - Cirque Du Soleil

Enjoy!

Alex