FOSS, MCLEOD CONQUER ‘EVERESTING 4 SAW

MBABANE – History made. Cyclists Brett Foss and Ian McLeod were the first-ever emaSwati to conquer the Everesting challenge in the country. They began their challenge at the top of the iconic Waterford hill, just outside Mbabane at 3pm last Saturday. 

The weather was warm but there were strong winds. 

Initially, each ‘hill repeat’ from the top of the hill down to the bottom of the hill and up again to the entrance gates of Waterford KaMhlaba UWC took about 15 minutes. 

They were motivated by their desire to bring awareness to the good work of the volunteers at Swaziland Animal Welfare Society (SAWS) who care for abandoned, abused, stray and lost animals.

Complete

One of the organisers, Lesley Foss, said the duo knew they must complete at least 61 hill repeats to achieve the equivalent ascent to climbing the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest.

Brett Foss was the first to finish by riding his mountain bike to the equivalent height of Mount Everest (8 848m ascent) at 9:38am  and on Sunday. 

He took a short break and then continued to ride a few more hill repeats alongside Ian McLeod who finished soon after at 10:49am. 

Ian’s 15-year-old son, Nicholas McLeod, accompanied his father for his final 12 hill repeats on Sunday (he also rode nine hill repeats with him on Saturday). 

Ian said he could not have done it without Nicholas’s support.

Sam Hodgson and Vitor Oliveira successfully achieved their Half Everesting challenges which involved riding the equivalent to climbing half the height of Mount Everest (4424m ascent). 

“We had lots of support from Waterford KaMhlaba UWC, who assisted us by sweeping the road and providing access to electricity and toilets,” said fundraiser Lesley Foss. 

Supported

Foss said the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) also supported them by providing a presence on the road to ensure road safety. SwaziCo Medics were also on stand-by. 

There were also volunteers from International Tool Hire who gave assistance during the challenge.

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