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 .
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. To achieve the new record, Dines, who is a Sports ambassador, needed to power himself uphill on skis, then ski back downhill.
This type of activity is usually called where skiers use fabric skins on the base of the 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 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.” Yet.
