Two Czech Riders Complete First MTB Descent of Mera Peak in Nepal

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Mountain bikers Tomáš Zejda and Ondřej Novák recently made history in Nepal by riding their bikes down Mera Peak, a 6,476 m / 21,198′ monolith that’s considered by many to be the world’s highest mountain that can be climbed without much mountaineering experience or specialist equipment.

It was undoubtedly the hardest challenge we have ever faced in our lives… The fact that no one had ever tried it before meant that it was a pretty crazy idea, for which we decided to risk our lives. In the end, however, it was a thrilling experience full of adrenaline, which was afterwards accompanied by joy, inner peace and feelings that are hard to describe.— Tomáš Zejda

The expedition was led by experienced mountaineer Jan Trávníček and lasted 21 days consisting of several days of climbing, plus the necessary acclimatization to the altitude and cold temperatures, which dipped nightly as low as -15°C.

We had already had experience with cold and darkness from the climb up Kilimanjaro. This time, however, we were also faced with several glacial crevasses on the way and the hardest part of all was that we had to carry our bikes on our shoulders for more than a hundred kilometers.— Ondřej Novák

The two already had experience climbing and riding down a big mountain from doing the same on Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2021, but bringing the operation to Nepal added even more height and some more technical difficulty.

On the 12th day of the expedition, the riders reached the top and it was time to ride down. Novák said that although the riders were excited for the adventure of doing something so new, they were “very scared,” in part because the only viable path was about 30 cm wide in many places.

I accidentally hit one of the ice cracks and my rear wheel fell off. I had to quickly jump off and at the same time I was in danger of falling into a hole several metres deep.— Tomáš Zejda

The two riders are very thankful to have made it through the adventure unscathed, and are glad to have footage to show for it. Tomáš Koucký and Tomáš Dudek documented the journey using drones and other cameras, and Drive Film Factory is currently making a documentary that’s expected to premiere on Netflix this fall.

We’re creating an inspiring audiovisual work that will combine the human dimension of a documentary story, the natural beauty of Nepal, adrenaline-fuelled action footage, and chart the journey to attempt something no one has done before.— Film director Matěj Pichler

From all of us at Pinkbike to Tomáš Zejda and Ondřej Novák, congratulations on this huge achievement.