Triathlon Triumph: Staying Connected In The Himalayas

Mateusz Waligóra is a specialist in high-performance expeditions to the world’s most desolate locations, including cycling through the world’s largest mountain range, braving the Gobi Desert, and skiing across the world’s largest island.

Most recently, Mateusz stood proudly atop Mount Everest, having successfully completed his Himalayan triathlon (biking, hiking, climbing) after 63 days. In this conversation with Iridium, Mateusz shares details of the battles and triumphs of his most recent #IridiumConnected expedition.

Congratulations on your successful expedition to the top of Mount Everest! You did this in a unique way, too. Can you share more?

Thank you! Oh yes, it was a unique trip. I climbed Mount Everest from the Indian Ocean, so I started the hike at 0 meters above sea level. First, I cycled over 1,200 kilometers, then, at the point where the road ended, I started marching through the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp, and then climbed to the top—all solely by human power.

That’s quite the feat! How did you prepare for your Himalayan triathlon?

I am quite an experienced adventurer, so I know how important details are in the planning stage. Fine-tuning the logistics of the entire expedition was a demanding task. Fortunately, the experience paid off and everything I had control over went according to plan.

We’re sure this wasn’t easy. What were some of the mental and physical challenges you endured?

Probably the most difficult moment of the expedition was a road accident during which I collided with a motorcycle. I don’t remember much because at the moment of impact I lost consciousness for a few minutes. From the account of Jakub – my friend who accompanied me on this part of expedition – I know that it’s a miracle that I’m alive. It ended with abrasions, bruises, and a damaged bike, which, thanks to the help of car mechanics, we managed to repair on the same day. The entire expedition was a very, very mentally demanding undertaking. However, I have experience from many solo expeditions to deserts – I managed it.

We can imagine it was also difficult to decide what to pack to keep your load as light as possible. Can you tell us more about the essential items you packed?

The most important thing was the minimum amount of equipment to move efficiently and a reliable bike. I chose the Koga World Traveler model, assembled in accordance with my expectations. In the mountains, the weight of the equipment was important, so I chose proven materials from which my equipment was made, such as Dyneema (the world’s strongest fiber) or goose down (the finest lightweight insulator). The topmost important pieces of equipment? POC sunglasses, Meindl shoes and, of course, Iridium devices.

For previous expeditions, you relied on the Iridium GO!®, and for this expedition you brought the Iridium GO! exec®. Can you share more about why you chose this device for this expedition and how you used it?

I am a professional storyteller. That is my job, so telling the story of the expedition in almost real time in the best possible quality was very important to me. Of course, I appreciate the increased data transfer speed in the new Iridium GO! exec, but what is particularly valuable to me is the much better quality of transferred photos. The option of using applications that I also use on a daily basis, especially WhatsApp, is also important. All this allowed me to report on the expedition in an engaging and interesting way for readers on social media and to maintain constant contact with the press and television.

This was one of the few “green expeditions” to Everest in history. Can you tell us more about that?

From the beginning, I assumed that my expedition would not use any means of transport that would produce a carbon footprint. The use of helicopters is becoming more and more popular in the Khumbu region (aka Everest), which is on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. You can fly them not only to the base and higher camps, but also fly lower to Namche Bazaar, Lukla or Kathmandu to regenerate. Fancy some cold wine and (unfortunately cold) pizza from Kathmandu? No problem: you are only limited by your budget and imagination. This is crazy, and for sure it is not mountaineering anymore. I didn’t agree to this, I wanted to stand on the top in the purest way possible: with the power of my own muscles and collecting all my garbage. I would like this to be standard.

You’ve been a great advocate for ecology and the need for recycling. Can you please share more about how these efforts were attached to your expedition?

The title sponsor of the expedition was Asekol, a company dealing in electronic waste recycling. Together, we noticed that people in Poland are often outraged by the garbage on Everest, while they often lack motivation to keep their immediate surroundings clean. Everest was therefore the starting point to encourage people to care for the natural environment in a catchy and attractive way, especially to return electronic waste to collection and recycling points. The expedition was very popular, and in Poland alone it reached over 18 million people (that’s half of our population), so I believe that we managed to achieve our goal.

What’s next for you? Do you have any future expeditions in the pipeline?

For me, the expedition to Everest from the ocean level was part of a childhood dream of reaching the three extreme points on Earth by muscle power: the North Pole, the South Pole and Everest. In 2023, after 58 days of skiing alone from the Antarctic coast, I reached the South Pole. Before me, therefore, is the North Pole, which in the current geo-political and climatic situation seems to be unreachable. But what would life be without dreams? Preparing for this expedition, I would like to return to the Gobi Desert, which I was the first person to cross on foot alone in 2018. This time I would like to ride a bike – in the middle of the Mongolian winter. Are you coming with me?

Follow Mateusz Waligóra on Social Media:
Instagram: @mateusz_waligora_explorer | Facebook: Mateusz Waligóra