In the world of mountaineering, many oddballs have carried some pretty strange things to the peaks of mountains in the name of publicity. We’ve seen guys carry pianos, organs, wood stoves and picnic benches. One guy even pushed a Brussels sprout up a mountain with his nose.
At Europe’s tallest peak, the 18,510-foot Mount Elbrus, one Russian powerlifter carried a 165-pound barbell on his shoulders to raise awareness about the lack of exercise gyms in his country. Andrey Rodichev took eight days to summit the mountain along with guides and members of the 7 Summits Club, who observed the feet.
“When climbing, I saw only my shoes,” Rodichev said, according to a statement on the club’s website. “It was very hard. Every day it was heavier than the previous one, but I went ahead.”
During the climb, Rodichev suffered eye burns and partly lost his sight. Rodichev carried the bar with a shoulder pad similar to the way he would when doing a lunge. And this was one mammoth set of lunges. During the last two days he reportedly completed the climb in bad weather, but that wouldn’t stop the champion powerlifter.
His friend, Alexander Sukharev, who completed the climb alongside him, said it was even tougher to carry a weight because his muscles had less oxygen.
“Andrey had to feed his huge muscles with oxygen, which is in the mountains in very short supply,” he said according to the 7 Summits Club.
Photo credit: 7Summitsclub
