Powerlifter Climbs Europe’s Tallest Mountain Carrying A 165lb Barbell On His Back Because Daypacks Are For Pussies

A body builder summited Mount Elbrus of the Caucasus Mountain range carrying a heavy barbell on his back in place of hiking gear, and as every single one of you already knows Mount Elbrus is Russia’s highest mountain peak and the 10th highest in the entire world. Just let that sink in for a moment: Russian powerlifter Andrey Rodichev hiked his ass up the 10th highest mountain in the world carrying a 75-kg barbell (165-pound barbell) on his back, draped over his shoulders, all while you were hitting up happy hour and skipping the gym for the umpteenth day in a row. If powerlifer Andrey Rodichev carrying a barbell up one of the most treacherous peaks on planet earth can’t get you motivated then I don’t know what will. Here’s his story…

In carrying the 165-pound barbell up Mount Elbrus on his back Andrey Rodichev became the first person to ever do so, and he did this harrowing climb to prove that a slim figure isn’t required to hike mountains, that bulk can get you to the top of the mountain as well. Now I’m not one to praise the accomplishments of Russians all that often, but this is just fan-fucking-tastic.

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The Oddity Central reports:

What he’s essentially done is combine two very different sports – trekking, which requires amazing endurance, and powerlifting, which requires short bursts of pure muscle power. While the former requires lighter body weight, the latter demands that athletes bulk up. By fusing the two, Rodichev managed to set a new athletic standard.
In order to prepare himself for the arduous trek, he trained twice a day, seven days a week. Every morning he would run on the streets for an hour and a half with an additional weight of 10 kg. In the evening, he would work out at the gym. He lost about 20 kg of bodyweight to reach the ideal weight for the challenge.
Although the trek up Mount Elbrus is relatively easy for mountain climbers, the additional 75 kg posed huge challenges. Most hikers carry backpacks that weigh about 25 to 30 kg, but they usually leave most of their gear at the bottom before beginning the final ascent for Mount Elbrus. The outcome of Rodichev’s attempt was unpredictable, but he was determined to achieve his goal – to raise awareness about powerlifting in his hometown, Murmansk.
When the time finally came for him to begin the journey, he attached the bar to his back using specially designed straps. The bar itself weighed 20 kg and was loaded with two discs of 25 kg discs. It was undoubtedly an excruciating trek – he moved at an average speed of 50 meters per hour, and in some areas even dropped to 15 meters per hour. The last two days saw terrible weather conditions, but he finally managed to reach the summit on September 6, in eight days flat. He was accompanied throughout by professional instructor and climber Alexander Sukharev.

The Western peak of Mount Elbrus is the tallest mountain peak in all of Russia, raising an astounding 18,510-feet up from the ground (5,642 metres). Mont Blanc is widely referred to as the highest mountain peak in all of Europe (by people who don’t recognize parts of Russia as European, which is most people), but Mount Elbrus is actually 1,600-feet taller than Mont Blanc (~500-meters), so depending on your viewpoint Mount Elbrus is in fact the tallest mountain in all of Europe.

If you’re interested in doing some extreme mountain climbing and summiting one of the world’s tallest mountains then I HIGHLY SUGGEST checking out the ‘7 Summits Club‘, who runs guided tours worldwide up the tallest mountains on the globe. Furthermore, if you’re looking for more info and pics from Andrey’s record-breaking climb up Mount Elbrus then follow that link to the 7 Summits Club, which is where all of the photos in this post originated from.

[7 Summits Club via Oddity Central]