The University of Portsmouth’s Climbing Club smashed expectations during their Everest Challenge. A day of fitness, teamwork, and community spirit proved that no peak is too high
On Wednesday 20 November, the University of Portsmouth’s Climbing Club took on an epic challenge: to climb the height of Mount Everest—885 ascents of the Ravelin Sports Centre climbing wall—all within just six hours. This exciting event brought together sports clubs, societies, and individuals to raise money for Movember, combining fitness, teamwork, and creativity to reach new heights (literally).
The result? They didn’t just meet their target—they scaled the wall 1,609 times, far surpassing the height of Everest and even Kilimanjaro!
Alongside the climbing, there were handmade shoe charms sold for charity, surprise participants, and plenty of energy. Here’s how the day unfolded, as told by Millie Chauhan, Climbing RAG Secretary.
‘On Wednesday, the 20th of November, we set the challenge of getting as many people as possible to help us climb the height of Everest. To do this, we needed to scale the 10-meter climbing wall in Ravelin 885 times. UOP climbed the wall 1,609 times, not only reaching the height of Everest but also surpassing that of Kilimanjaro and Ben Nevis too!
To include as many participants as possible, we divided the 6-hour event into half-hour slots for sports clubs and societies, including an hour slot for individuals to climb. The first half-hour slot was from 9:00 to 9:30 AM, involving 16 members from the Climbing Club. We started off strong, but 15 minutes in, the fire alarm went off. It only took 7 minutes off our half hour, so in the remaining 23 minutes of climbing, we managed to scale the wall 256 times. This energized everyone for the rest of the day, with over 25% of Everest completed in just the first session.
After the climbing session, members from the Gym, Tramp, and Kayak clubs joined in, including Gym and Tramp’s Lottie, who is one of the Movember ambassadors. It was great to see different societies and clubs try out climbing and enjoy it. Over the course of the whole day, we had 18 clubs and societies enter a team, including the American Football team, who surprised us by stepping in on the day.
In addition to climbing, one of our previous presidents, @printedbypiper, created shoe charms shaped like mountains and moustaches for Movember, which were a great success. We sold them for £4 each.
I want to say a big thank you to all the committee members, to the floorwalkers who ensured everyone was clipped in and securely harnessed, and to everyone in the climbing club who filled in for other clubs. And to Charlotte, our previous president, who made the shoe charms and came early for the first climb.
In total, we raised £788, with £394 going to Movember!
Before running this event, we envisioned it as an annual tradition that would grow and include even more participants. So next year, can UOP climb up and down Everest?
Thank you, everyone, for getting involved!’
- Millie Chauhan, Climbing RAG Sec
The UOP Everest Climbing Challenge was an incredible success, showcasing the energy, passion, and teamwork of the university’s sports community. With over 1,600 climbs, nearly £800 raised for charity, and a host of participants from across clubs and societies, it was a day to remember.
Events like this highlight the power of bringing people together for a great cause, and it’s exciting to think this might become an annual tradition. Congratulations to everyone who climbed, helped out, or cheered from the sidelines—you’ve proven that no height is too high for UOP to conquer!
