The man with a mission to ski 3m human-powered feet
His name is Noah Dines. His mission? To break the World Record for ski touring three million vertical feet in one year
Yes, you read that right – the Vermont-based skier is attempting to ski tour an incredible three million vertical feet in 2024 in a bid to break the current World Record. This is the equivalent of skiing from sea level to the top of Everest over 100 times.
Having kicked off on 1 January, Noah’s mission requires skinning nearly 10,000 vertical feet every day, with limited rest and travel days.
We caught up with Noah mid-January to find how the idea came about – and see how he’s been getting on…
As of 4 March Noah is in France and has completed 718,142 ft of his 3m mission
That leaves 2,281,858 ft to go (and 193, 552 ft ahead of plan…)
He’s already broken a record for the most vert in a month, skiing 378,000+ ft in January alone
Next stop, Innsbruck
Follow Noah on Strava, and check back as we interview him post quest
Three million feet! That’s huge. How did the idea for the project come about?
Aaron Rice (the current record holder, set in 2016 for just over 2.5 million feet) lives in my town (Stowe, VT) and is a friend, so as an avid ski tourer and adventurer myself the idea has always been there. I’ve also had friends mention it to me in the past (how I should attempt to break Aaron’s record), but I shied away from the idea.
The idea to really go for it came to me as I was driving back home after a bad date. Once it came to me it never left.
How much planning has been involved?
The planning has been challenging, because you don’t know what the snow will be like, so I’m having to be quite spontaneous regarding where I ski. Planning my travels for the rest of the year is a big challenge, because I’m spending so much time skiing so computer work is tough to fit in. I’ve also spent lots of time chasing sponsors and working on social media to make it all happen.
Have you ever done anything on this scale?
Last year, I ascended one million vertical feet across various sports, from skiing to biking, and on foot. More than 335 days of dedication and perseverance, I surpassed half a million feet skiing and over 400,000 feet biking. This achievement has given me the confidence and determination to take on this enormous challenge of skiing three million vertical feet.
What will the greatest challenges be do you think?
Naturally skiing every day without getting hurt or over exhausted is the big one. Keeping a good head on my shoulders will be critical as well. If I go to bed excited to ski the next day then things are going well. The other major challenge is finance and logistics. Finding snow and skiing that allows uphill access can be a major challenge in the States. This endeavour is quite expensive and funding it as a relative outsider to the ski industry has been challenging.
What are you most looking forward to?
Skiing! In new and old places with new and old friends. I just love everything about ski touring and am so interested to see where this takes me. I’m currently looking into coming to Europe for February and March.
* We’ll be following Noah throughout his epic mission – keep an eye on Fall-line.co.uk and next season’s mags to see how he’s getting on.
