Now That's a Ride - Ben Hildred Completes Double Everest

Feb 27, 2023 at 16:25
by Henry Quinney  

Mountain biking is a personal practice, and I'm not saying everyone should go and compare their weekend's effort to this, but for those that are looking to be inspired Ben Hildred's 33 hours of moving time double Everest should suffice.

Climbing to the Ben Lomond Saddle 17 and a half times, through and above Queenstown's bike park aboard his trail bike is quite the feat.

The final total of 17,925 m of climbing over 277.5 km (that's 58,808 feet and 172.5 miles) makes for shocking reading. Let alone the 25,000 odd calories burned...

You can read an interview we did with Ben last year, and stay tuned as we'll hopefully be able to catch up with him about his latest effort in the coming weeks.

You can check out the activity on Strava here.

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94 Comments
  • 129 1
 Flat pedals, no Chamois, 100% black single track descent each time, the climb is the most gruelling in town, this is one hell of an effort, if you have ridden the trails he used you would know. Its next level. Big love and respect xx
  • 13 3
 so he would propably be ready for making a cuadruple Everest on a Road bike if it were fun...
  • 13 0
 Strava says the trail he used for a climb is 1.51 miles long and 1,313 ft of climbing. (Something like 2.5km and 400m of climbing)

16.7% average grade - wow.
  • 4 1
 And no bike computer! I've found that my phone records 5-10% less elevation than my Garmin for the same route, so it's possible that he did a couple bonus laps on top of 2 Everests.
  • 3 0
 @sjma: hike a bike for me, incredible young man
  • 2 0
 @sjma: That's just one part of the climb, there was another 510m climb after that!
  • 3 0
 At what point is he just going to give up the challenges and live his life in the saddle and never stop pedaling?
  • 2 0
 @nowthatsdoomage: the garmin vs phone thing is actually pretty dependent on the area you're in and the mapping data Garmin and Strava use for the terrain. In some spots my Garmin adds vert, in other spots it takes away vert. And mid summer a couple years ago Strava updated the map data for my usual ride spot, and all of a sudden the vert numbers jumped up. You can compare them quick with the "Use Device Elevation" button on an activity.
  • 102 0
 What the actual
  • 37 0
 I mean, I flew to the West Coast of the US from London and got less air miles.
  • 72 0
 Tomorrow on Pinkbike Buy & Sell

For sale: Complete drivetrain, only used for one test ride. Unfortunately I can't confirm mileage via Strava because I seem to have broken Strava. Sorry, not sorry. Best reasonable offer, preferably in crisps, takes it. Please see my other ads for gently used tires, saddle, shorts, etc.
  • 5 0
 He was selling a set of “lightly used” S.C. Reserve wheels last year on Facebook marketplace and i had bite my troll lip not to comment on it. What a sucker for punishment. Amazing
  • 58 0
 I asked Ben on IG what he ate. He said - “ Vegan diet, nuts, dried mango, salty crisps haha lots!”.
  • 59 0
 Impossible, he must have eaten raw liver and lives primal lifestyle to be this strong Big Grin
  • 9 2
 @valrock: liver king would be proud
  • 6 1
 @valrock: like Gorilas you mean?
  • 8 11
 To be fair, dude looks like he could really use some protein ngl
  • 4 0
 @PauRexs: exactly, or a Bull, or a Bison Big Grin
  • 6 0
 @Bro-LanDog: I think you could say that about anyone who just did a double Everest
  • 4 9
flag Bro-LanDog (Feb 28, 2023 at 9:24) (Below Threshold)
 @JamesKROZ: and many vegans too
  • 60 1
 Not even one PR wow weak
  • 43 0
 Christ! If I do 3300 ft (1000m cuz I'm Canuk) I'm mighty proud and it's a very big day! That is freaking crazy.
  • 16 0
 Yeah and when we do 1000m it's usually over 30km+, he was doing 1000m every 15ish km.
  • 10 0
 Same.

1000mD+ is generally my benchmark for a really big day.
  • 2 1
 I've done 3650m(12,000ft) elev. gain over 64km(40mi) and was completely shot after (most of that riding was above 3000m(10000ft) elevation). Doing something this long is 99% mental.
  • 5 0
 @warmerdamj: literally Sunday gone I did 1050m over 15km, I still hurt 2 days later. Let alone doing it almost 18 times over!
  • 2 0
 Same. This is so nuts I can't really get my head around it.
  • 1 0
 I did 3000 ft vert in 2.5 hours and couldn't stay awake at dinner that evening with my wife. Ben is a HARD dude.
  • 22 2
 Filed under just because you can doesn't mean you should. But holy crap!
  • 5 0
 well, I can't even say that I can!
  • 19 0
 This is insane! The 25,000 Calories is the unbelievable variable. How on earth do you replenish that just to keep on going?
  • 5 0
 Pot noodles. So. Many. Pot. Noodles.
  • 14 0
 That's the equivalent of 6.25kg of sugar.
  • 17 0
 @IMeasureStuff: now there is a challenge I have more chance of succeeding with.
  • 3 0
 You simply can't, he would have been in a glycogen deficit after 4-6 hours. after that yoiu have to reply on what glycogen you can shuttle into the cells (not enough to not be in the red) and fat stores.
  • 14 0
 @IMeasureStuff: Username checks out.
  • 18 0
 My knees hurt reading this.
  • 19 2
 I am waiting for someone to actually ride a bike to the top of Mount Everest.
  • 1 0
 e-dreams... "e-rocket bike" perhaps...
  • 1 0
 Forget that. If I do it I'm shuttling that beast.
  • 12 0
 Well done - what an effort! Ps. I much prefer reading about superhuman efforts by relatively unknown riders than the biggest sponsored pro's... More of this please!
  • 12 0
 Jesus, that is next level stuff, imagine a leisurely trail ride with him and Matt Fairbrother.
  • 10 0
 When I read about people's achievements, like running a marathon, I often think "I could probably do that if I wanted to and put in the time and effort". With this, there is no doubt.

Not gonna happen.
  • 5 0
 Tough gig, everesting in the lowlands.
  • 2 0
 @mi-bike: it takes significantly more distance. Might as well drive to proper mountains first...
  • 3 0
 @Mac1987: google tells me that Keutenberg would actually be a pretty good candidate for endeavours like the one described in this article.

Gain in altitude 66 m (217 ft)
Length of climb 700 m (2,300 ft)
Maximum elevation 136 m (446 ft)
Average gradient 9.9 %
Maximum gradient 22.0 %
  • 2 0
 @mi-bike: thanks! Now I only need to improve my fitness ten fold Wink But small steps first!
  • 19 10
 Why give the final results in feet on the home page? The achievement is quite clearly a final total of 17,925 m of climbing over 277.5 km in metric measurements. This imperial nonsense is, well, nonsensical.
  • 6 0
 AMERICAAAAA
  • 9 1
 Freedom units
  • 12 1
 How many potatoes consumed per lap?
  • 2 0
 Yes
  • 3 0
 @Aer0: are we talking russets, Yukon golds or baking potatoes? Lol
  • 1 0
 Re: how many?
All the.
  • 1 0
 @therealnobody: Agria most likely
  • 2 0
 @aer0: unbrushed , soil has vital calories
  • 13 4
 Too bad his bike didn’t weigh 38 pounds, if it did he wouldn’t have had that mechanical that cost him the chance at a triple Everest in 36 hours
  • 19 6
 If he had an ebike he could have done more laps
  • 9 0
 holy crap 58809 ft of climbing. you could take that zero out and it would still be a pretty big day
  • 9 0
 Whatever. He didn't even get the KOM.
  • 11 0
 But he should now be the 'Local Legend'...
  • 6 0
 Why is his ass cream sponsor not 1. paying him 2. leveraging this insane act? I need to know what he used. I'll be a customer for life.
  • 8 0
 I could not do that on an ebike.
  • 7 0
 one melted climb ring later holy actual god though what an acheivement
  • 6 0
 Love that guy, what a legend!
  • 4 0
 Strava says I should follow Ben Hildred...but that would be exhausting. So I will just be glad that he's out there somewhere...
  • 5 0
 I am impressed to the point of confusion.
  • 4 0
 The human body is incredible. Definition of a superhuman effort.
  • 3 0
 The lad is a savage. Mind-blowing stats. Looking forward to reading/watching/hearing more about this one.
  • 4 1
 1 Chinese weather balloon height climbed, nice. Too high for most Aircraft.
  • 5 1
 What a beast.
  • 4 1
 Checking calendar to see if this is April 1st.
  • 3 0
 Influencing the hell out of us
  • 3 0
 Right on
  • 2 0
 On ya Ben! Some lad. Need to pick up a sponsorship from Whittakers
  • 2 2
 i wonder how the 25000 calories was calculated? if it was the strava logarithm it'll be off considerably, good on him none the less
  • 1 0
 Power meter, weight, time, HR if used
  • 2 0
 Someone get the man a beer!....and a new cassette.
  • 1 0
 This should be a 'Must Read'
  • 1 0
 Huge effort! very impressive.
  • 1 2
 Congrats - having spent that effort on the bike it would have been Gerät to see more then two random pics of it… just saying
  • 2 0
 What bike?
  • 1 0
 Amazing effort, well done.
  • 1 0
 Wow. Super respect!
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