American skier Noah Dines has claimed a world title for the greatest altitude climbed during one year.
The 30-year-old skied 3.5 million vertical feet uphill, which is equivalent to more than 120 ascents of the world’s tallest mountain, Everest.
He actually surpassed the previous record, set by Aaron Rice in 2016, of 2.5 million vertical feet in September 2024, just eight months into the challenge.
Dines sets new world uphill skiing record
To achieve the new record, Dines, who is a Fischer Sports ambassador, needed to power himself uphill on skis, then ski back downhill. This type of activity is usually called backcountry skiing where skiers use fabric skins on the base of the length of skis to gain traction on snow for the climbs.
Dines started his year of skiing on his home mountain in Stowe, Vermont, ascending 10,000 vertical feet on skis almost every day.
To find enough snow for his skiing challenge, he needed to travel across the world and skied uphill in France, Austria, Colorado, Utah, Oregon and Chile.
It has been reported that he took only a few days off skiing of his own choice throughout the year but lost four days of the challenge when his travels were hit by major IT outage issues in the summer when he was en route to South America. He lived a basic life, sleeping in his truck or staying with friends, eating simply and drinking no alcohol.
On setting the new record, Dines said: “I'm excited and almost feeling overwhelmed.
"I've worked for eight full months to get to this moment. In some ways, it's just a milestone, but it's also the only milestone that matters because it's the most critical one.”
Dines skis on to 3.5 million feet of vert
Yet he was determined to continue, finally reaching the impressive total of 3.5 million feet vert on December 30. He stopped a day short, just as Rice did, because it was a leap year.
Dines used three pairs of Fischer Travers CS boots, including one pair that lasted 1.7 million vertical feet of skiing, plus different pairs of Fischer Transalp RC skis on rotation throughout the year.
His original goal had been to ski 3 million vertical feet – or 9,090 feet a day for 330 days. In the end, he achieved a far greater ascent and sets a new world record for the greatest altitude difference covered in a single year on skis.
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