This weekend saw Josh Lewsey, World cup winning International rugby player, along with best mate Captain Keith Reesby, a serving Army helicopter pilot, start their preparation to climb Mount Everest next Apr-May. The 3 day programme with My Peak Potential was based around establishing a starting point for the training from a climbing/mountaineering perspective.Josh Lewsey’s long and successful career in both national and international rugby has kept him mainly at sea level with his feet firmly on a rugby pitch. He and Keith recently trekked to K2’s base camp which has given them both a taste of how the altitude might affect them. However their goal of reaching the roof of the world is going to be no mean feat and the next year will see them working hard to fully prepare themselves for what they will encounter during their push for the summit of Everest.
John Doyle and Dave Bunting of My Peak Potential, who between them have over 15 Himalayan Expeditions under their belts, will be putting both Josh and Keith through their paces in the next year. Their extensive knowledge and experience in both leading and climbing at altitude allows them to pass on all the necessary skills and preparation needed to give Josh and Keith the best chance of making it to the top of Everest next year. As well as learning how to use their crampons, ice axes and ropes effectively, they will also be learning a lot about what it takes both physically and mentally to get themselves up nearly three and a half kilometers of snow and ice.
John Doyle has successfully summited both the 3rd and 11th highest peaks in the world without supplementary oxygen and Dave Bunting recently led and climbed on an expedition attempting Everest’s summit via it’s notoriously dangerous and rarely attempted West Ridge route. John Doyle was also Climbing Leader on this expedition which although cut short due to avalanche conditions high up on the mountain, was hailed as a great success with all 20 climbing members reaching the high camp at 7600m.
Josh and Keith’s training started in earnest this weekend by way of a gentle introduction and familiarisation to harnesses and ropes. They were kitted up and tied in ready to descend the Gorge that runs behind My Peak Potential’s Alpine Training centre in Bavaria. With two waterfalls, zip wires and Tyrolean traverses to cross, this course of rope work allows people to acquaint themselves with knots, ropes and other climbing equipment in a controlled environment. Happy with their kit and eager to get to grips with the more advanced mountain gear, they were then taken up to the snowline on the mountains above the lodge to try on crampons and practice with ascending techniques. With just enough snow left in this part of the Alps to pull it off, the weather held just long enough to give them a small taste of what would be required of them. All that was missing was the exposure and altitude.
The next day My Peak Potential took Josh and Keith to a popular Klettersteig in Austria where they made a 500ft ascent of a cliff face next to a huge waterfall. Klettersteig is a very popular activity in this part of the Alps. Also known as Via Ferrata in other Alpine regions, it is a method of climbing and traversing the mountains using fixed metal ropes, bridges and ladders. You are clipped onto the wires and so it is a relatively safe method of reaching the parts of the mountains usually reserved for mountaineers and goats! Through his rugby, Josh is a very fit and athletic person and as the route progressed so did Josh’s technique. By the time he topped out an hour and a bit later he sighted it as “one of the best things I have ever done!” It also made him acutely aware of the need for high quality training in the skill sets needed to climb effectively and, more importantly at altitude, efficiently!The weekend was a great success and plans have been made for the next stages of training including a 7-9 day high alpine programme. Both Josh and Keith are also enlisting the help of My Peak Potential’s partners, Leeds Metropolitan University in the very near future to gain crucial assistance and advice on physical and nutritional preparation for their climb. The University’s research and assistance on the Everest West Ridge Expedition was sighted as a very strong factor in the team’s outstanding performance on the mountain and so will offer the friends the best chance of making their dream to stand on top of the world a very real one.
“The first step! Thanks so much - the best outdoor experience I’ve had. See you again soon” Josh Lewsey
“What an amazing weekend! Thanks so much for your hospitality and training which will hopefully set the foundations for Everest. See you again in August” – Capt. Keith Reesby
If you are making plans to climb a mountain My Peak Potential offer valuable skills training, support in nutrition and fitness and tried and tested advice of all aspects of expeditioning and climbing at altitude. Please visit www.my-peakpotential.com/expeditions for further info and details of how to get in touch.
Coming from a sporting background I have always enjoyed being part of a team and all the camaraderie and friendships that come along with having that collective identity. The group of individuals that arrived on day one, through the activities, the fantastic setting and a few bar games thrown in for good measure, left a focused, motivated and above all bonded Team.
