CONCORD, Mass. — A Massachusetts native has made history on the world’s tallest peak.
On Wednesday, May 27, Concord’s Tyler Andrews set out to become the fastest person to climb Mount Everest. He did just that, breaking a 23-year-old record in dramatic fashion.
Andrews reached the summit in 9 hours and 55 minutes, beating the previous record of 10 hours and 56 minutes by a full hour.
“It’s my job to run up mountains really quickly. It’s a privilege, and I love doing it,” Andrews told Boston 25 Morning News. “When you’re running up mountains for your job, Everest is the natural pinnacle of that.”
He says the feat marked a breakthrough on his third attempt at Everest.
After two previous attempts on the Himalayan peak, Andrews says he returned with a new approach: a data-driven training strategy designed to maximize his performance at extreme altitude.
Before leaving for Nepal, Andrews underwent extensive testing at the Human Powered Health Performance Lab in Wellesley. There, specialists evaluated his aerobic capacity, endurance thresholds, strength and balance, and metabolic efficiency.
“They are one of the top sports labs in the country and were really able to look at my physiology and my mechanics, kind of what makes me tick as an athlete,” Andrews explained. “A lot of literal blood, sweat, and tears went into this one.”
Using those metrics, Andrews says he fine-tuned his training in a way he had never done before, despite his long, elite athletic career.
Andrews says his parents were the first people he called upon reaching Everest’s peak.
