The former biathlete, Kevin Ramsfjell, has skied 2600 kilometers on roller skis from Nordkapp to Lindesnes, Norway, in a wild ten days. He has run across Norway from Bergen to Oslo over mountains and through thickets and mud in just over four days. And he ran from Paris halfway to Rome in one week—a project that, however, ended in a severe overuse injury after covering 750 of the planned 1350 kilometers, which he would have reached had he completed the journey to Rome.

On Sunday, the 24-year-old from Rogaland set out on a roller ski session the world has never seen the likes of—although on paper it seemed considerably “easier” than any of the previous stunts: he was “just” going to ski 12 hours straight on a roller ski treadmill.

However, between the start and finish lay 8849 meters of elevation, equivalent to Mount Everest’s height above sea level—a so-called “Everesting.”

“As far as I know, no one has done this before,” Ramsfjell told ProXCskiing.com’s sister site Langrenn.com ahead of the monster session.

Also Read: “As far as I know, no one has done this before”

But unlike similar Everesting projects outdoors, where one ski up and down the same incline enough times to log the 8849 meters of elevation, there are no natural breaks or changes in movement when the workout is done on a treadmill.

See facts about the “Everesting” concept further down.

Toughest on the Mind

The 24-year-old says the biggest challenge wasn’t physical; he felt pain exactly where he expected, and it wasn’t worse than he anticipated. But the mental strain was much tougher than expected, especially when only one hour remained of the 12-hour session.

“Being on the treadmill from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM is one of the most mentally challenging things I’ve done. Skiing for that long was really tough—much harder than running, which I did last time I ‘Everested’ on a treadmill. The pace was just high enough that I had to keep working the whole time, and my heart rate was high from the start,” Ramsfjell told ProXCskiing.com’s sister site Langrenn.com after the feat, and elaborated:

“I had pain in my arches, but otherwise, I didn’t hurt anywhere else, and my legs held up very well. I was actually surprised by how few ‘pains’ I had. I ate well the whole way and kept the same pace for 11 hours. Then, I increased to a 17-18% incline, and it got really tough. I had to work hard in the last hour, as I was also starting to doze off multiple times.”

How long will it be until you start planning a new, challenging stunt, and what are you tempted to do?

“We’ll have to wait and see. I’d like to do a ‘speed period’ first with more focus on speed. My body has gotten quite sluggish from all the slow running I did in preparation for the Paris-Rome project.”

Also Read: Running from Paris to Rome: 32 marathons in a row

Data from the Session

• Elevation: 8849 meters
• Moving time: 11 hours 49 minutes
• Total time: 12 hours 8 minutes

FACTS: WHAT IS EVERESTING

• The concept of “Everesting” is to climb up the same hill repeatedly until you accumulate 8849 meters of elevation, equivalent to Mount Everest’s height. It’s most commonly done through cycling or running.
• The total elevation must be achieved in a single session, although breaks are allowed. The total time, including breaks, is considered the project’s official time.
• Similar challenges have emerged named after other mountains: Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro, etc., depending on the elevation accumulated during the session.
• Hells 500, the Australian organization that established the Everesting concept, verifies and keeps records of Everestings worldwide.

Read More: Could be the first ever to “Everest” on roller skis

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