A man from the Denver area has completed the gruelling 41-mile hiking route from Weston Pass to Frisco in Colorado in a record-smashing 31 hours, covering 18,500 vertical feet on the way.
Garrison Hommer, a 33-year-old Colorado School of Mines mechanical engineering research professor from Lakewood, completed the astonishing task solo and unsupported. It was his second attempt after bailing on the same route in the fall of 2020 after running out of water.
The Mosquito and Tenmile Ranges are a continuous ridge of mountains in central Colorado thought to be the longest, highest ridge in the US outside of Alaska. Hommer began his rugged journey at Weston Pass, 11,921ft above sea level just southwest of the town of Leadville. After ascending Weston Peak from here, Hommer never dropped below 13,000ft for 27 miles until reaching Peak 10 near Breckenridge. After Peak 10, the fearsome route kept him in the high 12,000s all the way Peak 1 in Frisco, summiting 34 named peaks including two 14ers, mostly without a well-marked trail underfoot.
For this attempt, Hommer brought extra hiking shoes and gaiters and started earlier than last time at 10 p.m. so that he could cover more ground overnight when the temperatures are cooler and therefore lose less water through perspiration. There is no natural water source on the route until mile 26 so he had to carry all his water in his hydration pack.
The previous record time for this feat was 47 hours set in 2012.
