Utah Boys Break 100,000 Vert Barrier

Utah marketing mavens and barely disguised ski bums Adam Barker, Dave Fields and Nathan Rafferty broke the 100,000 vertical foot barrier at Snowbird Monday, dropping a whopping 108,066 total vert in 9 hours.

For those of you scoring at home, that’s 42 Peruvian Express chairs clocking 2,573 feet per run for a total day’s descent of 102.5 miles.

“We skied nice groomers to start,” Fields, Snowbird’s director of marketing said of the trio’s tentative 7:27 am pre-dawn start. “We expected more frozen conditions since it had been warm on Sunday but the groomers hit our route first on Sunday so it would "cure" all night. It was a little sketchy skiing fast in the somewhat dark conditions from 7:30-8:30 a.m. but we were trying to log some runs before the mountain opened.”

As the day, and the snow, rapidly warmed, and springtime crowds built like dandelions in the heat, the time the three had made up in the morning began to slow. 12-minute laps were the average, Field said, “But it varied based on crowds.”

Rafferty, the president of Ski Utah’s reputed inability to turn at speeds less than 50 miles per hour is rumored to be the reason for the extra 8,066 vertical feet accrued before the crew called it quits at 4:30 p.m. But it’s also likely Fields knew if he was home after 5, he wouldn’t have to make dinner.

“All I know is that I won’t see my basement for a week,” Barker, the marketing and media manager for Ski Salt Lake said. “Does anyone know how much it costs to install an escalator?”

The skinny about this record:
42 runs off Peruvian Express chairlift 2,573 vertical feet per run 108,066 total vertical feet 2.5 miles per run, 105 miles Skied Chip’s Run and Anderson’s

Consumed: Two Godfather sandwiches from Gritt’s Deli, one bag of beef jerky, three bottles of water, one bottle of Powerade, one bottle of Gatorade, one iced tea, one Monster energy drink, two twinkies, one package of fig newtons, two Clif bars.

Three potty breaks in the trees.

One gear repair to fix a broken ski buckle at the base of the lift (Internet marketing manager brought a screw from the shop and installed w/o taking off ski or boot).

Two sunscreen applications. Zero falls.

Start: 7:27 a.m. Finish: 4:30 p.m.

Toughest part: Walking down stairs the following day. We started when it was barely light and finished in warm slushy conditions. No one took off their skis.