Acton native Tyler Andrews claims record-breaking speed in Everest climb
The ultra-athlete said he made the climb in a blazing 9 hours and 55 minutes.
Tyler Andrews made it to the top of the world — fast.
The Acton native reached the summit of Mount Everest in record time using supplemental oxygen, having climbed through the night to ensure he would have time to get back down the world’s highest mountain.
Smashing the standing record by an hour and one minute, Andrews said he made the climb in 9 hours and 55 minutes, reaching the pinnacle at about 5 a.m. Nepal time.
Lakpa Gelu Sherpa set the previous record of 10 hours and 56 minutes in 2003, according to The Himalayan Times, an English-language Nepalese newspaper.
Andrews’ time has yet to be ratified by Guinness World Records or local authorities, but his father, Tim Andrews, who lives in Acton, said every indication is “this is going to be the right time.”
“We’re incredibly proud and inspired,” Tim said of his son. “He really did this through a ridiculous number of very challenging experiences with all the difficulties on that mountain.”
A perilous climb
Tyler made five attempts last year to set the speed record for summiting the 29,032-foot mountain without supplemental oxygen, including a life-threatening fall into a crevasse on one attempt.
His hope: To break the record of 22 hours and 29 minutes set by French mountaineer Marc Batard in 1988.
He intended to make his climb without supplemental oxygen this year as well, but the mountain had other ideas.
Tim said the weather on Everest was even more fearsome than usual this year, pushing his son to use oxygen on his attempts to reach the summit.
“There was a lot of wind on top of the mountain, which is very dangerous,” he said. “You’re not going to get blown off, [but] the real risk is the wind sucking the heat out of you much, much faster. There’s a real risk of hypothermia, frostbite, all those things.”
Tim said the only choice was for Tyler to go with oxygen, cutting the time he would be exposed to the extreme weather conditions roughly in half.
“Oxygen helps you generate energy and stay warm,” Tim said. “Because the weather was so awful, they were trying to find the day with the least wind.”
‘Mental math’
Even with extra oxygen, Tyler was forced to cut his first attempt short. Coming to within 350 meters of the top — about 1,200 feet — he made the decision to turn around.
“He was doing the mental math,” Tim said.
“The weather was not great. It was windy. He realized he didn’t have enough oxygen. The sherpas could not catch up with him, he’s so fast,” he said. “In my opinion, it was a very mature decision to turn around and not risk frostbite or hypothermia.”
All of Tyler’s speed attempts on Mount Everest have been supported by Kathmandu-based Asian Trekking and its CEO, Dawa Steven Sherpa, who has climbed Everest three times.
The mountain closed to climbers for the season on May 29, the day after Andrews set his record.
Tim isn’t sure exactly where his son was headed next, but he knows it will be somewhere warm — and at sea level.
“The beaches of Thailand are pretty close,” he said.
