Massachusetts runner smashes Mount Everest record, reaches summit in under 10 hours

On top of the world after climbing to the top of the world. But this was no ordinary climb scaling Mount Everest. The challenge and throw of a lifetime now. Imagine trying not only to climb Everest but to do it faster than any human in history. Well, it is exactly what a Concord native and also tough scrout accomplished getting to the peak of Everest in record time shattering the old mark by just one hour and one minute. It all started years ago at Concord Academy. This right here is Tyler Andrews back in what looks like his cross-country days. Tyler joins us now live this morning at Tyler. You just completed this feed just a week ago and you're also in Thailand this morning. I understand first congratulations. We want to know what made you want to actually climb Mount Everest, but also get there so quickly. Thank you guys so much. Well, the short answer is it's my job to run up mountains really quickly. It's a privilege and I love doing it. And so, you know, when I when you're running up mountains for a living for your job, Everest is kind of the natural pinnacle of that. And I couldn't be more excited to have been chasing this project for the last couple of years and finally get it done. You did it nine hours, 55 minutes. A lot of people can't do average tasks in that amount of time, but there are all kinds of challenges. Tyler harrowing sections of the climb, like having to cross over some bridges of aluminum ladders. One part of this, did you see this? My goodness, what am I doing here? Not only do I have to navigate this, but I got to I got to get over this pretty quickly. The Khumbu Icefall, which is actually the very first section of the climb, is to me the most dangerous and the most scary and that it's the most uncontrollable. You have these massive blocks of ice, some of which are the size of multi-story buildings that are constantly shifting and creaking and moving. And those aluminum ladders that you talk about. And for me, I was actually doing that during the night. And that was that was pretty harrowing. I actually had a really close call where I fell down into a crevasse last fall in one of my attempts. But luckily, this year made it through safely in one piece and was able to to get up the mountain feeling good. That sounds frightening. And obviously, I mean, you're not just jumping into this climbing the mountain here. A lot of training goes into this, especially in an attempt to break this record. Talk about the process of getting ready for the climb. Absolutely. This has been a multi-year journey. I've been, you know, competing as a professional athlete for almost 15 years at this point. The big difference this year was I had the help of a really amazing team at Human Powered Health in Wellesley. I see you guys are showing some footage right now from my visit there. And they are one of the top sports labs in the country. And we're able to really look at my my physiology, my mechanics, kind of what makes me tick as an athlete and find the little, you know, one to two percent improvements that we can target over this training block. So that was a huge part of it and a lot of work. Honestly, just a lot of literal blood, sweat and tears went into this one. And, yeah, I couldn't be more thrilled with the result. Now, Tyler, I understand when you got to the peak, you called back home. And I don't know how hard it was to talk because, you know, the oxygen up there is not exactly plentiful. But tell us who it was that you wanted to share the moment with. Well, I had my team down in base camp and I was able to call them on the radio. And then just luckily I was able to have them put my parents actually on speakerphone. They still live in Concord, Mass., and they were able to talk to me all the way from Massachusetts to the top of the world. So that was really, really special. My family has been such an important part of my journey and my life. And to be able to literally share that moment with them, with my partner, with my team down at base camp. Yeah, it couldn't have been a more perfect and special moment up there just before sunrise. That is a very special moment. Also, we understand part of your motivation, too. So your inspiration for this was a close friend who passed away. That's correct. Yeah, a good friend of mine, Gregory Krupa. He passed back in early April, right when I got to Nepal. And he was a huge supporter of mine, really believed in this project. And he was also a part of our board. Yeah, that's him on the screen now. He was a part of our board for our foundation. And yeah, it was really meaningful. I was able to bring his picture up to the top of the summit. And, you know, it meant a lot for me to have him literally and figuratively with me along the way, every step of the journey, because he was just such a strong supporter of me and the foundation that I support and everything we were doing. You seem like, obviously, an incredible go-getter. So I guess we'd ask you, what do you plan to do next? Are you like, you know what, this is good. I got to Everest to the peak faster than anybody ever. I think I'll take a little time off, put my feet up. I mean, I am definitely going to take some time and put my feet up right now. I'm on vacation now with my partner, who's been extremely patient and put up with a lot of many weeks of me being in the mountains and not showering. So we're trying to relax a little bit. She has been great. And after that, you know, kind of we'll see. There's a lot more, many more goals I have in the mountains in running that I want to pursue. So definitely not finished, but going to give my body and mind a little bit of a break after such a humongous project. That's an impressive feat, an incredible record. And I know everybody here in Massachusetts, we're laying claim to you, so we're proud of you. Great job, Tyler. That's right. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. By the way, you do need a good partner to support you for that, especially getting ready to climb Mount Everest. That's awesome. Good for you guys. Absolutely. Thank you. All right. Tyler Andrews of Concord, the fastest mountain climber in the world, getting to the peak of the world's biggest mountain in record time. Quite an accomplishment. Again, congratulations. And we appreciate you spending time with us this morning. Thanks, everybody. Have a good morning. It's nighttime here, but I'll say good morning. Night, Tyler. See you later. Thanks a lot.