{"id":52344,"date":"2026-03-31T10:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/52344\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:21:15","slug":"regine-to-become-the-youngest-dane-on-top-of-the-world-im-more-afraid-of-cycling-in-copenhagen-without-a-helmet-than-climbing-everest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/52344\/","title":{"rendered":"Regine to become the youngest Dane on top of the world: \u201cI\u2019m more afraid of cycling in Copenhagen without a helmet than climbing Everest\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"Regine Mai on the summit of Ama Dablam (6812m) in the Himalayas, Nepal, as the youngest Danish woman, November 2, 2024. Photo: Jakob Urth \/ Urth Adventures<\/p>\n

23-year-old Regine Mai from Juelsminde, Denmark is spending her final days preparing for what could become the biggest challenge of her life: climbing Mount Everest \u2013 and potentially becoming the youngest Dane ever to reach the summit.<\/p>\n

She will leave Denmark on April 7 by flight and travel to Kathmandu, Nepal, where she and her team will spend a few days on final preparations before the expedition begins.<\/p>\n

From there, the plan is to fly to Lukla \u2013 the world\u2019s most dangerous airport due to its short runway \u2013 before starting the trek towards Everest Base Camp, where she has already been once.<\/p>\n

\"\"Regine Mai on her way to Everest Base Camp in October 2023. Photo: Regine Mai \/ Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201dIt was a truly magical experience \u2014 looking up through the Khumbu Icefall at the world\u2019s highest peak,\u201d she says. That was the moment she knew she wanted to climb it herself one day.<\/p>\n

The flight to Lukla is expected around April 11, but the schedule depends heavily on weather conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201dLast time, when the weather finally cleared, we ended up waiting two extra days than we had originally planned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not about reaching the top<\/p>\n

Despite aiming for the summit \u2013 and a potential national record \u2013 Regine insists the climb is not about standing on top of the world.<\/p>\n

She is not afraid of not reaching the top.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this was about prestige or recognition, then I would have everything to lose,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Instead, she sees Everest as part of a broader mindset.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve prepared down to the smallest detail, and of course I\u2019ll do everything I can to get there. But in the mountains, there are factors you simply cannot control \u2013 and that\u2019s something you have to accept.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facts about Mount Everest<\/p>\n

Mount Everest rises 8,848.86 metres above sea level, making it the highest point on Earth.<\/p>\n

More than 20 Danes have reached the summit \u2013 the first in 1995.<\/p>\n

The mountain lies on the border between Nepal and China.<\/p>\n

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first confirmed climbers to reach the summit in 1953.<\/p>\n

At least 344 people have died attempting to climb Everest.<\/p>\n

The mountain has been summited more than 11,000 times by over 6,000 people.<\/p>\n

Source: Wikipedia, Mountains.dk and TV2<\/p>\n

For her, the journey matters just as much as the outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to take unnecessary risks just to reach the top. The mountain will still be there next year \u2013 and the year after that. Some risks are just part of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you let fear of failure stop you, you also stop yourself from living fully.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also stresses that a climb is only successful once you return safely.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou haven\u2019t really completed a successful climb until you\u2019re back at base camp again,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Years of preparation<\/p>\n

Preparing for Everest has taken years.<\/p>\n

Her journey into mountaineering began in 2022, shortly after finishing high school, when she and a friend travelled to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro \u2013 with little preparation.<\/p>\n

\"\"Regine Mai on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895m), Tanzania. Photo: Regine Mai \/ Instagram<\/p>\n

It was extremely tough she says. But an amazing experience. And while her friend had no desire to repeat it, Regine was hooked.<\/p>\n

Since then, she has climbed six mountains above 5,000 metres \u2013 and lost count of the rest.<\/p>\n

Regine trains every day, combining strength training, running, and endurance workouts. At the same time, she works between 50\u201370 hours a week across two jobs to finance part of the expedition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve trained myself to do. Like studying or going to work \u2013 it\u2019s not something I question, it\u2019s just part of my routine,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"\"As part of her preparation, Regine Mai runs marathons and half Ironman races. Here she\u2019s crossed the finish line after the 42.2 km Polar Night Marathon in Troms\u00f8. Photo: Regine Mai \/ Instagram<\/p>\n

The expedition is expected to cost more than 500,000 Danish kroner, though the final amount is still unclear as some parts are sponsored while others are self-funded.<\/p>\n

She plans to calculate the full cost once she returns home, noting that much of her gear has been built up over several expeditions.<\/p>\n

Base Camp is like a festival<\/p>\n

Once at Everest Base Camp, the expedition will continue with so-called rotations \u2013 climbing up and down the mountain to adapt to the altitude.<\/p>\n

As part of the preparation, Regine will also climb Island Peak. This helps her practise climbing techniques and reduces time spent in the dangerous Khumbu Icefall \u2013 the riskiest section of the route.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit like a festival \u2013 everyone lives together in tents at base camp and then heads out from there,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She will climb with her Danish guide Jakob Urth and a Sherpa each, forming a team of four.<\/p>\n

Regine also plans to share parts of the journey on Instagram as much as possible.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Danish climbers who have summited Mount Everest (click to expand)<\/p>\n

Michael Knakkergaard J\u00f8rgensen \u2013 1995
\nLene Gammelgaard \u2013 1996
\nMads Granlien \u2013 2000 (with Asmus N\u00f8rreslet)
\nAsmus N\u00f8rreslet \u2013 2000 and 2001
\nNick Nielsen \u2013 2005
\nS\u00f8ren Gudmann \u2013 2005
\nHenrik Andre Olsen \u2013 2006
\nMogens Jensen \u2013 2007
\nS\u00f8ren Smidt \u2013 2008
\nHenrik Kristensen \u2013 2008
\nCarsten Bennike \u2013 2009
\nJens Christian Trolle Nielsen \u2013 2010
\nStina Glavind Dalgaard Pedersen \u2013 2010
\nMartin Cederkrantz \u2013 2013
\nOle Mose Nielsen \u2013 2013
\nRikke H\u00f8jland \u2013 2013
\nArne Vatnhamar \u2013 2014
\nJakob Urth \u2013 2018 and 2023 (with Emma \u00d8stergaard)
\nRasmus Kragh \u2013 2019
\nEmma \u00d8stergaard \u2013 2023 (with Jakob Urth)<\/p>\n

Sources: Jyllands-Posten, Berlingske, TV2 \u00d8stjylland<\/p>\n

\"\"Regine Mai with her guide Jakob Urth on the summit of Aconcagua (6,960.8m), ahead of their Everest summit attempt. Photo: Jakob Urth<\/p>\n

Not afraid of the risk<\/p>\n

Despite the dangers, Regine says she is not afraid.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout ignoring the risks in the mountains, it\u2019s simply not something we see as a possibility. No, it\u2019s not, \u201d she says, when asked if her parents is afraid of not making it home.<\/p>\n

She adds that she is, in many ways, more concerned about everyday risks \u2013 like cycling in Copenhagen without a helmet \u2014 than she is about not returning from Everest.<\/p>\n

Her parents are supportive, though she acknowledges there might be some concern.<\/p>\n

\u201dThat\u2019s natural for any parent. But we have a really good dialogue about it, and they trust both me and my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do everything we can to avoid unnecessary risks and make the right decisions at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regine is expected to return to Denmark in early June. If successful, she could become the youngest Dane ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Regine Mai on the summit of Ama Dablam (6812m) in the Himalayas, Nepal, as the youngest Danish woman,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52345,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[108,28967,28968,28969,28970,28971,28972,28973,28974],"class_list":{"0":"post-52344","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-copenhagen","8":"tag-copenhagen","9":"tag-everest-summit","10":"tag-female-climber","11":"tag-himalaya","12":"tag-mount-everest","13":"tag-mountaineering","14":"tag-nepal","15":"tag-records","16":"tag-regine-mai"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116323292759223650","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}