HE may not have conquered Everest itself, but mountain biker Jamie Vogele proved his stamina on Saturday by riding the equivalent distance.
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His quest was in aid of contributing to money needed to erect shade sails over Livvi's Place at Westport Park.
The family man set off at 6am Saturday with fellow rider Jason English and two other cyclists, Ryan Barker and Phil Job, who were eager for the challenge.
A friend from Newcastle came up with a generator and hotplate to churn out banana smoothies and pancakes to help Vogele stay hydrated and energised throughout the gruelling 4.7 kilometre trips up and down North Brother mountain.
The 20 laps of the mountain, which has a 500 metre ascent, met the ascent gain of the 8848-metre height of Mt Everest.
It took until midnight for Vogele, with English finishing about 11pm. Barker and Job pulled out about 3pm, but Vogele also had support from others throughout the ride.
"There were about 30 riders who joined in during the day and a heap of people at the top of the mountain cheering us on which was great."
The heat almost put paid to the attempt with temperatures at the bottom of the mountain recorded at 38 degrees in the middle of the day and 27 degrees at the top.
"I was drinking a litre of water every 45 minutes and going to the toilet every three hours but I was on the edge of cramping in the middle of the day," Vogele said.
Vogele, a father-of-four, decided to mount the challenge after visiting Livvi's Place with his 11 and six-year-old children.
The cost to erect shade sails over Livvi's Place is $20,000 so Vogele was hoping to raise $5000. On Sunday the total was $1331.45.
"I still have some cash donations to put in," Vogele said.
People can still donate here.
Vogele said he was very surprised to only have sore tendons above his knees after the event and he is now preparing for his next feat which is a couple of endurance races in early February.
