Rob Ferguson, a writer and photographer, recently climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest while self-isolating at home in London.
A fellow of the National Geographic Society, the adventurer was meant to take on the real thing this year when his trip, among others, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Time Magazine, Ferguson was going to document the Mount Everest clean-up campaign in Nepal.
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Instead, the determined traveller set his sights on a new challenge, and tackled parts of a staircase in his London apartment to raise funds for the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund, a UK Charity for medical professionals, mainly doctors. Ferguson used only a section of his staircase as it was the only part visible to his camera, which was documenting the experience for viewers via the Zoom communication platform.
He was joined by two other British ‘climbers’, Lucy Aspden and Jenny Wordsworth, a ski enthusiast and athlete, respectively. The trio streamed their progress while ascending their home staircases, marking milestones such as ‘650 flights of stairs’ or ‘Base Camp’. They were joined via video chat by Jamling Tenzing Norgay, the son of the famous sherpa Tenzing Norgay who first climbed Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953. The mountaineer offered words of encouragement to the group, as they attempted to ‘ascend’ over 8,000 metres in confined spaces.
The group had its share of injuries and sprains, including achilles tendon pain and possibly broken toes, but soldiered on. Ferguson managed to ‘reach the summit’, and the team was there to congratulate him.
‘It’s a lot hotter than I thought it was gonna be,’ Ferguson said at one point, while his compatriots also dealt with excessive sweating while battling their indoor climate.
Image: YouTube/Tenzing Natural Energy
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