Skip to main content

Ain’t no mountain high enough to keep this man from his smart home

mountain climber heading to mount everest control his smart home z wave
Image used with permission by copyright holder
In 2013, climber Mariusz Malkowski was pushing for the summit of Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world. Almost 27,000 feet above sea level, he wasn’t feeling very well. He’d lost about 25 pounds over the past 40-odd days and had only eaten four power bars in the last three. And even those he’d vomited up. The howling wind didn’t do anything to make the subzero temperature more bearable. Still, he had to get to the top and try to lock the door to his home in New Jersey.

A few days earlier, he’d successfully controlled a few smart-home devices at the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association from his snowy camp at 22,000 feet. The point? To show that you can connect to your Z-Wave-powered home from anywhere. “Hopefully that proved it,” Malkowski tells Digital Trends.

As for when he finally reached the top of  Cho Oyu, the battery on his satellite phone died. “It was minus 40 degrees,” says the Poland native. “It was pretty chilly.”

Kwikset SmartCode 916 Touchscreen Deadbolt
Kwikset SmartCode 916 Touchscreen Deadbolt Image used with permission by copyright holder

Z-Wave is a radio frequency (RF) control protocol that lets connected devices speak the same language. That means a variety of smart lights, outlets, thermostats, security systems, and door locks can all play together, even if they’re made by different manufacturers. Some of the companies that use Z-Wave include Honeywell, Belkin, Kwikset, Yale, GE, and Leviton. The more devices you have, the better Z-Wave’s “mesh” network operates, because it acquires more pathway options along which it can send data. If the smart blinds aren’t cooperating to send the message along, the mesh self-adjusts to a different pathway.

Related: Smarten up your dumb house with Z-Wave automation

This is just one protocol that runs the Internet of Things, of course, though it is more than that for Malkowski, who has been involved with Z-Wave since its infancy. Now the Technical Services Manager at Sigma Designs, he figured out in 2011 how to combine his passion for the protocol and his love of scaling mountains. That year, he tested Z-Wave from 22,349-foot Ama Dablam. Two years later, he took on Cho Oyu, and on March 31, he’ll start a journey to control his home from the summit of Mount Everest.

Fibaro Motion Sensor
Fibaro Motion Sensor Image used with permission by copyright holder

When he’s at sea level in New Jersey, Malkowski likes to use his smart-home devices to make sure everything’s secure. When he reaches the peak of Everest, he will control devices from his sponsors, including Vivint, Fibaro, Kwikset, and Yale. Provided his iPhone with satellite attachment works, that should be the easy part, despite the mid-90s-dial-up-like speeds he’s expecting to use for the task. “There is about one percent of the people that do it without support and without oxygen,” he says of the ascent, “but that’s what I will try to do.”

To prepare, the engineer has been mountain biking and doing CrossFit to get in shape. But the challenge is more mental than physical, he says, explaining his habit of waking up at 2:00 a.m. to go hiking for two hours in the rain. “Just to prove that I’m more crazy,” he says.

Malkowski won’t be doing his push for the summit until late May. Before then, he’ll be acclimating himself, carrying gear up the mountain to four different camps, and then descending back down. Then for eight days, it will just be him and his 30-pound pack. But he says he’ll have one more thing: “I can bring the home with me,” Malkowski says. “I can bring the peace of mind.”

Update 3/26/2015: This post was updated to correct a misspelling of Vivint and to reflect that Black & Decker is not a sponsor.

Editors' Recommendations

Jenny McGrath
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jenny McGrath is a senior writer at Digital Trends covering the intersection of tech and the arts and the environment. Before…
How a smart thermostat can protect your home from brownouts
walmart drops prices on google home hub with nest thermostat and security camera learning

Summer's here, and for some parts of the country, it's going to be challenging to escape the extreme temperatures. Air conditioning is a must-have for those mid-July heatwaves, even more so for those with respiratory troubles and other health conditions. The trouble with summer and air conditioning, though, is that everyone on your street or in your apartment building has the same idea as you: They want to be cold, and they want to stay cold. When there's too much strain on your local power grid, there's a chance a brownout may occur. This is a temporary lag in electrical power that can affect your home for a few minutes or up to several hours.

Thankfully, today’s homes are significantly smarter and more efficient when it comes to combating high energy demands from appliances and HVAC systems. Take, for instance, the beauty and wonder of smart thermostats, which monitor and regulate the temperature of your home. They’re far more efficient because they’ll kick off your air conditioning system when you’re not home, or simply operate it at a lower capacity to maintain a specific temperature. They learn your habits over time to reduce power consumption, saving you money in the long run.

Read more
Don’t sweat rising electric bills: Smart bed covers keep you cool and save money
smart bed covers keep you cool reduce your energy bill eight sleep pro cover feature lifestyle

Do you sleep well at night? According to a lot of studies, roughly half of all Americans feel sleepy during the day -- a firm indicator that their nightly sleep isn't quite as restorative as it should be. Whether it be stress (due to high electric bills, maybe?) or just a lack of comfort, poor sleep quality is nearing alarming levels.

Temperature plays a large role in that. In fact, reaching a proper room temperature is one of the most important factors for achieving high-quality, restful sleep. According to SleepFoundation.org, the ideal temperature for the bedroom is around 65 degrees.

Read more
I didn’t think I could grow veggies at home, but a smart garden showed me how
Rise garden is like a living sofa table

Growing Technology Video

There's nothing like having a garden of your own, tending it, and reaping the rewards. Freshly grown tomatoes, kale, and herbs just have a better taste coming right out of the ground. But winter poses a problem for would-be horticulturalists. I live in Chicago, so my growing time is limited to a few good months in the late spring and summer until it's back to the grocery store.

Read more