We like to do crazy things. We like to challenge ourselves but maybe this time we have gone too far. Brenda and I have registered for an event that will push us to our absolute limit. OMG, what were we thinking?

250 days from now we will be climbing 29029 vertical feet in 36 hours. Its called “Everesting” and its very hard.

In October 2023, we will travel to Stratton Mountain Vermont and climb. And keep climbing until we have climbed the equivalent elevation as Mount Everest, 29029 ft. We’ll have 36 hours to accomplish this feat. We will need to climb from the base to the summit a full 17 times to gain 29029 feet of elevation. Fortunately, we get to ride the Gondola back down to the base each time.

Each ascent is 1750 vertical feet over 1.35 miles. Do this 17 times and we’ll have climbed the equivalent elevation of Mt Everest and covered over 22 miles. If going to be grueling and its going to be awesome.

What’s the reward if we make it you might ask. All you get is a red hat. Thats it. But its a special red hat. Only those who have completed the entire 29029’ get the hat. You can’t buy it, you have to earn it.

Brenda and I are not endurance athletes. We aren’t really athletes at all. We are in OK shape for our age but haven’t been training or doing any formalized workouts since Covid. We have a long way to go to get ready for this challenge and we’ll be posting updates on our training progress and of course a full report from the event when that happens.

A little bit of background on us. Brenda was a high school athlete competing in track and field with her specialty being the hurdles. After college she was a stay at home mom raising our three children. In 2017 we decided to run a marathon after our son who was in Hawaii ran the Honolulu marathon without any training. We thought, if he could do it without any training, we could probably finish one if we spent 6 months preparing. It was tough be we did it.

I was not a high school athlete. I did very little in the way of exercise until I was in my mid 40s. We had just built a new house that had a workout room in it. Being about 50 pounds overweight, I was worried that our friends would wonder why we had a workout room when it was clear that I wasn’t using it. So I commited to using it. Over the course of 6 months, I dropped 50 pounds and got off the high blood pressure and cholesterol medicine that I had been taking for years.

Feeling much better physically, I was now able to do some of the adventurous things that I’d always wanted to do but wasn’t in good enough shape to attempt. Some of those things were: completing the Rachael Carson Challenge three times. Trekking to Everest Base Camp and then climbing 20,000 ft Island Peak in Nepal. Completing the Honolulu marathon and attending the 14 day survival course at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS).

Making fire!

Each of these pushed me to my limit and each time, I discovered more about myself and what I could accomplish.

Now its time for the next challenge. To climb, and then climb some more and keep climbing until we’ve reached 29029’.

250 until 29029 in 36

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Taking the Plunge!