Yahoo News Man climbs height of Mount Everest from his house
A vegan father has successfully climbed the height of Mount Everest from his West Sussex home in just four days. John Griffin, a 53-year-old runner and entrepreneur, took on the enormous challenge on March 31st to raise money for the Trussell Trust, a charity which supports over 1,200 UK food banks. He reached his goal ahead of schedule, on April 3rd, after completing 1,363 ascents of his three-story Georgian house.
Climbing for charity
Griffin had become increasingly worried in recent weeks about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on food availability in the UK. He tells Runner’s World, “When I heard about food being stolen from trolleys, I thought, ‘What’s going to happen to the food banks?’”
The lightbulb fundraising idea came to Griffin after joking to his wife Niri, a GP, that he’d have climbed the height of Mount Everest by the time the crisis was over. He realised that, while he might not be able to make it to Nepal, he could recreate a slightly less snowy version of the challenge by completing 41,000 uphill steps in his own house.
How did he do it?
Griffin would begin his climb right after his daughter had started her schoolwork every morning. Accompanied by his dog Houndslow and the sound of BBC4 Radio, he was able to track his progress on a gifted computer screen, customised for him by a generous IT neighbour.
This virtual aid allowed him to visualise his climb in real-time and kept his eye on the goal: “It gamified it. On day one, I had lunch on top of Mount Snowden.”
Griffin’s passion for his charitable cause was also crucial to staying committed.
He knew there was no turning back once the sponsorship started rolling in: “A friend donated £100 and that was it – I had to do it.”
With his mind focused on fundraising, Griffin admitted that he wasn’t exactly prepared for the strain of such a challenge: “I hadn’t actually thought about the physical side until literally I woke up at 7 o’clock and thought bloody hell, I’ve got to go to do this now.”
He would stop for a break every 306 metres, fuelling up on vegan snacks like bananas, flapjacks and nuts. For dinner, he’d chow down hearty dishes of fried rice, veggie burgers and chana masala.
Despite the lack of training, Griffin believes his plant-based nutrition plan was key to enhancing his performance. “I just ran the final eight hundred metres. I had the energy to do that and I can only put that down to my diet.” .
The biggest hurdle came on day three, when his knee began to ache. After his wife advised him to tape it with frozen peas, he managed to endure the pain and continue for another several hours.
For anyone thinking of taking on a similar challenge, Griffin has two simple tips.
Firstly, it needs to be manageable: “Break it down into chunks and get victories during the course of the day.”
Secondly, pick a worthy cause: “I thought to myself, if there’s any point doing this, it has to be to raise some money for food banks.”
Griffin reached the finish line on his third floor terrace after a total moving time of 29 hours. He was greeted by his wife and daughter, who applauded and waved flags in celebration of his amazing feat.
The event, which raised £2,000 for Trussell Trust, left Griffin exhausted but “elated.”
One thing he did not expect, however, was missing the novelty of the tracking device. He says, “I feel a bit cheated going up and down the stairs now!”
While he may not plan on doing another indoor Everest anytime soon, Griffin hasn’t exactly retreated to the downstairs couch. He now has his sights now set on running the Brighton marathon in 2021, which he hopes to be another major charity-raising success.
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