Lap One Of My Everest Challenge Complete

On the 20th of August, 2025 I finally completed the first lap of the equivalent challenge of climbing Mount Everest using the staircase at Jacob's Ladder to scale up and down. There are 242 stairs from the bottom to the top of Jacob's Ladder, so after completing 175 laps up and down it I finally reached the 42,240 stairs to equate to that of Mount Everest. As I was also scaling down the stairs each lap to go up again, by the time I had reached the top, I was already also right back down the bottom. The process of completing this first lap challenge took me 21 weeks (21 hours). Every Wednesday morning 6-7am I wouldn't complete as many laps as I could within the hour. On my very first attempt in week one I was only able to complete four laps, however by the end I was competent in completing ten laps within the hour.

Top of Jacob's Ladder, Perth

So why did I set myself this challenge?

Quite simply to begin keeping at least one promise to myself which I would set for a physical activity in my life. After going through some hard times I had neglected my physical health and let my mental health get the better of me. When deciding what activity I wanted to do to get myself back on track I decided to choose something that I disliked the most and that was tough aerobic training, and I couldn't think of anything worse than Jacob's Ladder, so that was the challenge I put in place.

Thankfully I was able to achieve the goal of not missing a single week (session) over twenty-one weeks on my way to the top. Unfortunately in the very same week I achieved this milestone I actually injured myself later in the week playing social pickleball, a grade one tear on my right calf. In the same week I had started training in the gym again and went for my first run in many years. Unfortunately I learned a lesson the hard way after not warming up and also not allowing my body to recovery fully from a big week. Not to mind, I won't make the same mistake again and I am aiming to make my return to Jacob's Ladder this Wednesday, the 10th of September, to begin lap two of Mount Everest and begin week twenty-two of fifty-two in my year long challenge.

One of the key messages I am sharing as I take on this challenge is something I feel strongly about and has been personable to me also, and that is "If taking your time means you're still here tomorrow, take all the time you need. Healing shouldn't have a timeline attached to it." This message is something that sits very deep with me, it would have been easy for me to have given up a number of times during my darkest days, if I had not allowed myself to take just a little longer to heal. We need to allow people to go through their journey in their time, who is big enough to tell another person how long their healing should take. I look forward to talking about this subject along with several others in some near future podcasts and messages I will align with through a local charity.

Some of the challenges along the way through the first lap up and down Everest?

Well apart from the obvious one of it being tough physically when unfit, out of breathe, dizzy, wanting to give up from the very start. Some less obvious challenges include dark, cold mornings and pouring rain as I begun this challenge in our winter. When you have spent a length of time sleeping in, it is tough getting yourself out of bed at 5am and getting out into the cold, but I finally had a reason bigger than my excuses.

Another Week On The Stairs

Feelings after completing the first milestone of one full lap up and down Everest?

The first feeling that comes to mind is a sense of pride. Pride for being able to follow a promise to myself to better myself- something I hadn't done in a long time. I feel a lot more confident again because I have been taking action, and action towards any goal always helps your mental health. As I have got a little fitter and stronger from the climbs I also feel a lot more relaxed and less anxious. Interestingly while climbing the stairs each week I also began listening to some great meditation music through the ear phones while completing the stair climbs too, and this lead to listening the same music multiple times throughout the day!

What's next?

Lap two! Currently I have had to sit out for two weeks with the calf injury, but any week now I will begin back and continue towards the 52 weeks straight goal. I will add in weight training at the gym and running sessions now too, to make the stair climbs more achievable and help me to continue to hit personal best times. I will also be planning a 24hr team relay climb where a group of interested people can help me to climb non stop for 24 hours. So stay tuned for news on some more challenges and a fundraiser in the very near future!