We have been wrestling with infertility since trying to start a family in 2020. Along the way we have faced the roller coaster of countless tests, medical appointments and false starts. Having experienced two heartbreaking miscarriages in two years, we were unsure we would ever become parents. In this context, the first Everest Challenge in 2022 was born out of a desire to meaningfully support expectant mothers in the midst of our grief and frustration. Two years on in 2024, this second Everest Challenge was motivated by trying to raise more funds to support mothers facing disadvantage knowing that with two daughters on the way, this may be the last opportunity for an Everest for some time.
Preparing for Everest Challenge 2.0
With this context, I was all in going bigger and better for Everest 2.0. With experience comes the opportunity to reflect, learn and improve. This time around I was eager to choose a harder climb (Black Mountain), climb further (11,000m or roughly 50 reps) and climb faster. To meet this ambition, I matched it with a renewed emphasis on preparation, with a greater focus on nutrition, sleep and training volume. In doing so I started training over a month earlier and climbed almost double the elevation in preparation compared to last time.
But with this focus came sacrifice. Training at this level of intensity always comes at a cost, and would not have been possible without the patience, grace and understanding of my increasingly pregnant wife. Countless mornings waking up to an empty bed while I was off doing hill reps, countless evenings watching Netflix solo while I sweat up a puddle on the indoor trainer. Being happy to compromise on the location and structure of our babymoon to accommodate me cycling for 3-4 hours each day. Correct - she is my genuine collaborator in my preparation for these Everest Challenges.
Best Laid Plans
Two years prior things could not have gone more smoothly in the lead-up to the event and on the day. Bike maintenance, sleep, weather - it all went like clockwork. This time around however with ambitions of going bigger and better, it was far from smooth sailing. Weather conditions, issues with my bike, poor sleep in the 3 days prior, very windy conditions on the day and stomach cramps in the final hours all culminated in having to push harder physically and mentally than I have ever done before.
Having started the ride at 3:30am, by dawn at 7am I had completed 12 reps, just over a 5th of my intended total. It was a strong start but it came at a cost. High winds made the wind chill on every descent almost unbearable, with strong gusts buffeting me as I shivered on the way down at speeds in excess of 80kph. Each ascent at roughly 14 minutes was barely long enough to warm up before descending again. Safe to say that after 3 and a half hours, I was almost ready to throw in the towel and catch up on sleep.
Surprised by Kindness
The turning point of the day was the surprising act of kindness of my Dad arriving just after 7am unprompted with a thermos of tea. A hot cuppa was exactly what I needed to raise my core temperature, lift my spirits and give me the courage to once more shiver down the high speed and gusty descent.
From rep 14 around 8am, friends and family started to join me on the climb meaning that I didn’t ride alone again for the rest of the day. At 10am, my parents-in-law arrived with their caravan atop Black Mountain to provide a toilet and discrete space for me to change into a fresh cycling kit.
Each of these seemingly small but meaningful acts of support, coupled with the knowledge that by the start of the day we had received over $10,000 in donations meant that I knew I couldn’t give up, and at the very least needed to make it to the minimum required 39 reps and the equivalent height of Everest. At 24 reps in I still had hopes of pushing through to 11,000m (50 reps), but by 30 reps I was deep in my energy reserves, with stomach cramps making food and water increasingly hard to keep down. At this point, I increased the frequency of my rest stops from every 4 reps to every 3 but if anything this made the going harder as each time I stopped at the top of the climb, my body would cool down making the descent feel even colder. Despite the excellent company of my brother Brendan, cousin Bart and obligatory disco tunes from rep 30, each subsequent ascent and descent was an increasing struggle. By the start of rep 39, my left knee started to twinge and there was no longer any doubt, this would be the final ascent for the day.
After 11 hours 18 minutes and 30 seconds of ride time, feeling utterly spent with a sore left knee, unhappy stomach and 9,123m of elevation climbed, I rolled to a stop having finished the 39th ascent of the Challenge. The day did not go as planned, but completing that final climb in spite of all the challenges was all the sweeter knowing that Everest 2.0 was done, aided greatly by the kindness and support of those around me.
Unexpected Challenges
Experiencing the surprise of kindness wasn’t confined to the Everest Challenge. On my first day of paternity leave, two weeks before our girls were due, I had an unfortunate cycling accident with another cyclist that left my bike in pieces and my left hand broken, along with a fractured rib and spinous process.
Doubt, anxiety and frustration crept in as Bek and I wondered how we would cope - two girls about to arrive with me injured and uncertain how much I would be able to do. But in our hardship, friends and family once again rallied around us providing meals and developing a roster so that once the girls arrived we had daily support for the first month while I was most limited by my injuries. Being people who struggle to know how to ask for help, we were overwhelmed by the generosity and care of those around us, often providing support unprompted and in the midst of their own busy and chaotic lives.
Joy Amplified through Hardship
My biggest reflection on this journey so far - infertility, riding my bike up and down a hill repetitively and welcoming two girls into the world while dealing with injury - is that the joy in our lives is made so much sweeter by the hardship we face along the way. This for me has been most evident in three significant experiences.
1. Finding out we were expecting not one child but two was the biggest surprise of my life, but has felt like the coming of drenching rain after drought.
2. The relief, surprise and pride of completing the second Everest Challenge for First Steps in a ride time almost an hour quicker than in 2022 despite all the challenges and raising over $15,000 to cover a significant portion of First Steps' operational costs for the next year.
3. My injury prior to the arrival of our girls was the catalyst for the community coming together around us, sharing in the joy of new life and helping us cope when we weren't sure how we would.
While I never hope for hardship in my life or in the lives of those around me, looking back in hindsight I am thankful for the ways that these challenges have made the good in my life so much sweeter and in my case, cherish my precious girls all the more.
Looking Ahead
Across the two Everest Challenges, First Steps has successfully raised over $25,000, a testament to the incredible generosity of the local community. These funds enable First Steps to continue supporting women facing disadvantage and experience the joy of raising their children with holistic wrap-around care to help navigate the hardships they face and be surprised by the kindness and depth of support from the experienced team of doctors, midwives and social workers.
The experience of becoming a parent of our twin girls has given me newfound respect and awe for parents who may be raising their children without ease of access to medical, family or community support. For me, it has reinforced my awareness of the need for services like First Steps in our community, and the opportunity each of us has to lean in and support those that need it most.
While it is still early days in the life of my girls and my life as a father, the desire and ambition to continue to support the mission of First Steps is stronger than ever. Watch this space for future fundraising events to get behind, and who knows, perhaps in two years' time, when the girls are two, there too could be an Everest Challenge once again!
