Intrepid 51-year-old climbs up and down the height of Mount Everest… from home

It doesn’t matter how fit you are, climbing escalators, fire escapes or tube station stairs always feel like a challenge.

So imagine what it must feel like to climb 6,506 flights of stairs.

Well, that’s the ridiculous achievement one guy’s just pulled off in order to raise vital funds for UK charity RMBF, which supports frontline NHS workers and their families.

After 24 hours of climbing, Rob Ferguson, 51, became the first person to climb up and down the height of Mount Everest…on his home stairs.

He began his ascent (8,848m) at 7.15am on Thursday 9 April and finished his descent at 7.45am on Friday 10, with an incredible total of 17,600m climbed.

Rob was climbing as part of the TENZING Everest Challenge, and once the summit was reached, the drinks company then doubled the funds raised throughout the course of the challenge.

He knows a thing or two about how desperately NHS workers need support. He’s the head of the patient physiotherapy department at King Edward VII Hospital where he’s supporting the NHS by training and up-skilling nurses – teaching them basic chest maintenance and physiotherapy techniques to deal with patients who have respiratory issues.

Showing just how tough a challenge it was, Rob was actually part of a team of three – with each climber climbing their own home staircase. Jenny Wordsworth pulled out with an injured achilles at an equivalent height of 6500m while Lucy Aspden managed to get to Basecamp and back down (5,380m).

Jamling Tenzing Torgay, son of the legendary Sherpa Tenzing, who climb Mount Everest with Edmund Hilary in 1953 (the first person to do so), kick-started the challenge.

‘This should be an inspiration to everyone around the world,’ he said.

‘Just because you’re confined to your apartment or your house during lockdown, that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve great things.’

You can do a great thing without even moving a muscle, however, by donating to Rob’s JustGiving page or directly to RMBF.

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