Uphill skinning has become skiing’s latest craze, with more taking up the sport each year to avoid lift lines and crowds. This is best exemplified by the Last Skier Standing event at Black Mountain in Jackson, New Hampshire. According to New England Ski Journal, the event was introduced in 2020 with Rick Chalmers completing thirty-four hours. Here’s how the competition works: “each skier has one hour to ascend and descend the 1,000 vertical feet to and from the summit. At the beginning of the following hour, the skiers line up before starting their next lap together. Only one lap is allowed per skier per hour, and the lap must be finished within that same timeframe.“ Whoever is last standing is the winner.Â
This year, Salt Lake City native Brody Leven got sixty-five hours in. Ben Eck, who won last year’s competition, got second place with sixty-one hours, which was also his total from last year. The top female finisher was Meri Harrington from Cambridge, Massachusetts, who got twenty-seven laps in. Ninety-six competitors were a part of the event, with the youngest being thirteen, and the oldest person being sixty-one years old. Photos and videos from Ski the Whites, who organized the event, and the Out of Bound Podcast are below:
Image Credits: Out of Bounds Podcast, Ski the Whites
