Owen Slot talks to former England and Wasps back Josh Lewsey as he prepares to climb Everest in The Times.
"In terms of sheer unadulterated toughness, rugby union is beginning to look something of a doddle. Josh Lewsey is giving his experiences a resilience ranking and the boot camp in which the England team beasted themselves before the 2003 World Cup, known as the House of Pain, is placed only fourth — and it is soon going to drop to fifth.
"So here you have it in reverse order. Fourth: the House of Pain. Third: military training at Sandhurst. Second: climbing to base camp on K2 (“I was practically dying”). First: his ascent of Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Andes, in January. And he did not even get to the top.
"At the moment of truth, seven hours short of the summit — and when the truth did not remotely interest him — his guide grabbed him round the neck and told him in no uncertain terms that he had to turn round because was not fit enough. As Lewsey recalls, the guide sent him on his way with the words: “Don’t slip, don’t fall. If you do, you are dead.”
RSS feed
