Everesting 2024: Climbing Baldy in Sun Valley, Idaho

29029 'Everesting' returns to Sun Valley, Idaho to kick-off the 2024 climbing season on an extremely challenging Bald Mountain course.

Everesting in Sun Valley / 29029 Everesting

29029

29029 founded by Marc Hodulich, Jesse Itzler and Colin O’Brady in 2017 to create and stage an epic event known as Everesting. Everesting is not a race, but a gathering of like-minded people that, together, form an extraordinary community. These guys know racing and endurance events. Marc has finished the Leadville Trail 100 Run, Hennepin 100 Miler, Ironman Mt. Tremblant, and the Marine Corps Marathon. Jesse has completed 20 consecutive New York City Marathons. Colin is a world record holding explorer having accomplished the first solo crossing of Antarctica, was the first to row across the Drake Passage, and summited Mt. Everest. These guys are not underachievers. Their most impressive triumph, however, might be the creation of this 'non-race' - Everesting – a legacy achievement. 

Everesting

Participants in Everesting share a common goal – climb a mountain route, take a gondola down, and repeat the process as many times as they can within a 36-hour timeframe. The ultimate achievement is simply to participate. An awesome bonus is to climb an aggregate of 29,029 ft., the height of Mt. Everest, within the allotted time-period. Those that dare and prevail in scaling the vertical feet equal to the highest mountain in the world earn the 29029 Red Hat - the ultimate prize.

Everesting in Sun Valley, Idaho

29029 kicked-off the 2024 Everesting climbing season in Sun Valley, Idaho – America’s first destination ski resort, and summer paradise with epic mountain trails. Sun Valley features Bald Mountain (“Baldy”), which has a base elevation of 5,750 ft. and tops out at 9,150 ft. During the winter, outdoor enthusiasts enjoy 12 lifts and over one hundred ski trails.

For Everesting in Sun Valley, 29029 set up a course on River Run that takes participants on a 1,935 ft., 1.6-mile, route that starts on the River Run ski trail, and then veers onto the steep Canyon ski run, known as ‘The Wall’. The Wall ends at the top of the gondola near the historic Roundhouse lodge. To achieve climbing a total of 29,029 ft., and putting on the Red Hat, climbers need to climb this route 15 times within 36 hours. In all, successful participants will cover 24 miles of climbing. The route is flanked by the beautiful Big Wood River and surrounded by the scenic Sawtooth Wilderness.

After Sun Valley, 29029 will take its Everesting event to Jackson Hole, WY; Snowbasin, UT; Whistler, BC; and Mont-Tremblant, Quebec. All these 2024 events are sold-out, but check out 29029's website to get on a waiting list, and for information about the 2025 Everesting calendar. Do you have what it takes?

Historic Sun Valley

Sun Valley was America's first destination ski resort, opening in 1936. W. Averell Harriman, the chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad, sought to create a world-class resort that would attract wealthy travelers, and Hollywood celebrities.  He found the perfect location in in beautiful Ketchum in central Idaho. The Union Pacific Railroad built the luxurious Sun Valley Lodge, which became a haven for celebrities, politicians, and elite skiers.  Hollywood stars like Clark Gable, Ernest Hemingway, and Marilyn Monroe were early guests that frequented Sun Valley. The resort revolutionized the skiing industry by inventing the world’s first ski lift, which cemented Sun Valley’s stellar reputation that remains today. Sun Valley is often ranked as the best resort in North America.

Sun Valley, Idaho / Sun Valley Company