Claire Smith, aka “Brutal Claire”, is currently on Zwift attempting to become the first female to complete a Virtual Triple vEverest.
Everesting Basics
“Everesting” on the bike means climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest (8,848m) in one attempt. There is a set of rules codified by Hells 500, and achieving a single Everesting indoors or IRL is a massive achievement that takes elite riders just under 8 hours. (Meer mortals often require 12 hours or more!)
About the Attempt
Claire completed a vEverest a few years ago, and now she’s attempting to triple that effort.
She’ll be riding up Alpe du Zwift, which requires 8.5 ascents to vEverest but 25.5 ascents for a triple. During the ~60-hour journey, Claire will cover nearly 400 miles!
Claire is staging her attempt from inside the TRI UK shop. Based in Yeovil, England, this is the world’s largest triathlon store.
Join Claire
If you’re nearby and want to stop in to say hello, the shop is open from 8am-6pm.
Or hop on Zwift and ride with Claire!
Her name on Zwift is currently “B rutal_Claire Triple Everest”. If nothing else, drop her a Ride On for encouragement.
Breaks and Fueling
There are rules governing the breaks Claire can take during the attempt:
I’m allowed up to 2 hours for each Everest after the first one is complete. This 2 hour allowance is a total, so it can be taken as 1x 2hr sleep, 2x 1hr sleeps, 4x 30min sleeps etc. I also get a short break when I descend each climb which takes about 10 minutes, this is a good time to have a quick loo break and stretch.
Proper fueling is so crucial for ultra endurance attempts, as Claire well knows. Here’s what she says about her fueling plan for the triple Everest:
I will be using a mixture of PH&N products (www.precisionhydration.com) which will be perfect to help with this particular challenge due to the sweat factor! But I will also be eating normal foods, like pizza, potatoes, sandwiches and cake! This is such a long challenge that you can’t rely on sports nutrition alone as your stomach would rebel at some point!
Fundraiser
Many Everesting attempts are done as fundraisers, and Claire’s is no exception. She says, “I’m raising money for my local leisure centre, which desperately needs some solar panels to help stay open in this entry crisis. Osprey is my local pool where I’m training for the Arch2Arc. I and hundreds of others rely on it, and losing the centre would devastate the Portland community.”
Donate here: gofund.me/65501d6a
Watch the Live Stream
Learn More
Learn more about Claire and this Triple vEveresting attempt at brutalclaire.co.uk/veverest.
respect from a fellow member of the #friendsofthealpe
I did my vE(3x) earlier this year and know what she is in for.
#singleridemasochistbadgeiftherewasone
@Eric Schlange Hi Eric, maybe you can use your excellent connections to arrange for a special single ride masochist badge for “all” the zwifters that have done a 25x AdZ ride? =)
Wow – that’s an awesome. I friend of mine did it in 28h. That was crazy.
i think you have to wear a HRM during an official Hells500 ride. And also make pictures @ Trainer Difficulty with 100%.
otherwise it will not count.
and currently she has no HRM! Oh oh…
Everesting logo on her site and live streaming probably helps. I’d guess hells500 are involved and in the know, so I would not worry about approval.
no heart rate though … what a shame. Rules are rules no? Why would showing a logo give you special dispensation? At the end of the day it’s for charity so maybe Hells500 accreditation isn’t important
Ahh … looks like HRM only necessary for sub 10hr vEverest attempts. Phew!
Well.. it’s a challenge to be awake for 60h tho… it’s not my kind of challenge because I need my beauty sleep and I’m more interested in collecting data and work for 20min 😂.
yep, the “sleep” allowance is highly theoretical, I can assure you that from personal experience.
Hope there is a follow up article win or lose. I say it’s all been a win. Following her ride and she has already done more than I could. I climbed once and half way up I was asking myself ” why am I doing this, I must really hate myself “. Nothing but respect! Hats off
Any news? I rode with her for 2 hours last night. Was going to jump on this morning but I don’t see her on and there is no live feed.. regardless a massive effort. Way to go Claire
Went a short ways after her break but had to hang it up. Still impressive to me. More than I could do.
Update – here’s what happened (saw this post on Facebook today…)