The hardcore skiers who gave up sleep to ski at Snowbird, in the dark, overnight, for 12 hours straight, ended up raising over $25,000 for the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center.
The first annual 12 Hours of Snowbird event went down on February 17th and 18th from 7pm to 7am. Skiers and snowboarders lapped the mountain by the the illumination of the full moon and head lamp to log over 6.9 million vertical feet among the 77 participants.
The competition took place on designated runs in Gad Valley and Peruvian Gulch, and each skier was tracked with Flaik GPS devices that tally their total vertical feet skied, location, current speed, average speed, runs skied and more.
According to a press release, the winner of the first ever 12 Hours of Snowbird is Matt Mullin, who took the top spot in the individual vertical category with 125,643 vertical feet. Right behind Mullin are Nathan Rafferty with 125,532 vertical feet, and Scott Berry who skied 124,587 feet.
In the team category, Andy Hunter and Willy Mueller of “Kuhl Guys” captured the title with 251,315 total vertical feet followed by Sarah Scott and Nelson Fortier of team “Viice Skis” for the 249,274 vertical feet. Third place went to “Team WELD,” composed of Trevor and Jordan Marsh with 247,150 vertical feet.
In total, skiers and riders traveled more than 6,000 miles during the 12 Hours of Snowbird event.
“I’ve always wanted to see how much vertical I could put in if I went non-stop, so this event was the perfect way to find out just how hard we could go,” said Hunter, one of two winners in the team category. “Skiing in the dark and only using my headlamp about 30 percent of the time thanks to the full moon was an awesome experience.”
“We’re deeply grateful to Snowbird for pulling off an amazing event,” said Paul Diegel, Executive Director of the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. “It was great to see the outpouring of support from the ski community for the Center and raise funds that help us continue to educate the public and keep them safe.”
The money was raised from the $275 per-person entry fee required to participate, and $250 of that cost went to the Friends of the Utah Avalanche Center. In addition, individuals could also donate to competitors in an even bigger fundraising event. Huge props go out to Howie Oren, who raised an additional $575 for the FUAC and wins a pair of Black Diamond skis with special Utah Avalanche Center graphics. The team who raised the most additional money was Margaret Baldwin and Lori Stahler Keim of the “Drama Queens.” Combined, they raised $4,200.
The 12 Hours of Snowbird was sponsored by Flaik, Black Diamond, The North Face, Petzl, Utah Food Services, Uinta and Pepsi. For complete results visit www.snowbird.com/events/12hoursofsnowbird.html.