An Inverness father has completed one of endurance cycling’s toughest challenges by climbing the equivalent height of Mount Everest on a Highland hill.
Kyle Thomson, a 37 year old civil engineering manager from Inverness, completed an Everesting challenge by riding up and down Craig Dunain Hill, better known locally as The Mast, 54 times until he reached a total elevation gain of 8,848 metres, matching the height of the world’s highest mountain.
The remarkable effort took Thomson 19 hours and six minutes to complete, covering a distance of 117.36 kilometres on an enduro mountain bike built to cope with the hill’s rocky and technical descents.
While the challenge never left the Highlands, it demanded the same total climb as standing on the summit of Everest, with every metre earned by repeatedly tackling the same unforgiving ascent.
For Thomson, the achievement was the reward for months of determination after two previous attempts ended in disappointment.
His first effort came last year, while a second attempt six weeks ago ended after reaching half the required elevation when nutrition problems forced him to stop.
Rather than giving up, he spent the following weeks refining his training and fuelling strategy before returning to Craig Dunain determined to finish what he had started.
Throughout the ride he relied on a carefully managed mix of energy gels, bananas and other carbohydrate rich foods, having learned valuable lessons from earlier attempts when over fuelling had left him unwell.
The final hours brought an extra challenge as the weather deteriorated dramatically.
Light rain gave way to a thunderstorm during the final eight laps, turning the already demanding descents into slippery and hazardous runs as Thomson pressed on towards the finish.
He was joined for several laps during the day by his friend and fellow mountain biker Sandy, who later returned to ride alongside him through the storm during the closing stages.
His wife Sarah also made the climb to help keep his nutrition on track, while the family’s cocker spaniel, Rocco, was waiting to greet him at the finish after almost an entire day in the saddle.
An experienced endurance rider, Thomson has previously completed Scotland’s gruelling Strathpuffer 24 hour mountain bike race twice as a solo competitor, but believes this may be the first successful Everesting challenge completed on Craig Dunain.
Thomson said:
“It’s been a long time coming after two failed attempts, but getting my nutrition right made all the difference. Finishing in the middle of a thunderstorm wasn’t part of the plan, but I’m proud I saw it through.
“I owe a huge thanks to my friend Sandy, who joined me for laps throughout the day and then came back out that evening to ride through the storm with me.”
