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Stratton Recap

Facts VS Stories

By 29029 Everesting

October 30^th, 2025

The air was cool. Fog hung thick above.

From the base of Stratton Mountain, the summit was shrouded.

Invisible.

Just a suggestion hidden behind the fog and darkness.

But the goal wasn’t to see the summit.

It was to believe it was there.

And to climb long enough to prove it.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

This was the original mountain. The one where 29029 first took root.

And it was the finale for the 2025 mountain calendar.

Nearly 70% of the 250 climbers were first-timers.

And they arrived with facts.

Fact: 29,029 vertical feet is the height of Everest.

Fact: Stratton’s 17 ascents would add up to that number.

But the mountain can't be conquered through facts.

It would be summited by stories - the ones you tell yourself when things get hard.

When your legs ache. When the weather turns. When the fog returns.

When you wonder if just one more is actually possible.

Because the fact, is 29,029 feet is measurable.

But belief is what makes it climbable.

Climbing Through the Fog

Your first ascent was marked by headlamps cutting through the fog.

Then a hazy sunrise tried to pierce the clouds - blues and purples fading into grays.

Visibility dropped, then expanded, then dropped again.

Poles clicked. Headlamps on. Jackets zipped tight.

It was a sea of cloud, hiding the summit.

And, all of a sudden, you were there.

One summit down.

Sixteen to go.

When the Clouds Lifted

Eventually, the clouds broke long enough to reveal the colors of autumn in the distance.

It wasn’t much.

Yet, it was everything.

Views stretched wide, and you could finally see the summit you were chasing.

The mountain hadn’t changed, but your story had.

You realized that belief didn’t need visibility of the summit.

It only needed trust.

In the process.

In grit.

In effort.

In yourself.

Into the Night

Night fell fast and early in the late October skies of Vermont.

Temperatures dropped as headlamps marked their way up the mountain, like tiny constellations of determination.

A small few earned their Red Hats in those late hours.

But most?

Most kept climbing.

Their Everest was waiting for them many hours away.

The facts?

You’d been climbing for nearly 24 hours.

The mountain had grown cold.

The ground was boggy, soft, and slick with mud.

But the story - your story?

Your story was that you kept going anyway.

The Second Sunrise

The second sunrise was much like the first.

Clouds.

Fog.

Mist.

A summit obscured.

The difference this time?

Over 24 hours of fatigue.

You were tired - the kind of tired that made your legs feel heavier and your thoughts louder.

But you didn’t stop.

Because fatigue was a fact.

But perseverance was the story you were still writing.

Facts vs Truth

To simplify 36 hours of 29029 Stratton, you need just to look at the facts versus the stories.

The fact was that you climbed a mountain.

The story - the truth in that - was that you became someone who could.

It showed up in countless ways over those 36 hours.

250 climbers and 250 stories written from those same facts.

You helped define 29029 Stratton’s spirit.

A Story of Redemption

Mike “Maddog” Davis earned his first Red Hat three years ago.

Since then, he’s changed many things in his life, training harder, going further, and finding new drive in the process.

But at Aspen x 29029, the mountain hit hard. One climb short of Everest, Maddog earned his Red Bib, but no Red Hat.

He came to Stratton for redemption.

Because the fact was Aspen had bested him.

But his story was that he refused to stay beaten.

Through fog, through cold, through the night, and through the backdrop of Vermont, Maddog climbed seventeen times.

He didn’t just earn a Red Hat.

He reclaimed his story.

A Story of Belief

Leticia Pierri Maisey, or as her bib read, Tisha, almost gave up before the mountain began.

Six months before 29029 Stratton, she came to this very mountain to hike it once.

She reached the top, looked out, and cried.

Seventeen of those? It felt impossible.

The fact was seventeen ascents of Stratton was a monumental number of climbs. It wouldn't be easy.

But Tisha’s story?

Tisha's story was that she wouldn't quit.

Tisha’s story was that she would show up and climb through the doubt.

And nearly 36 hours later, she was on the Red Carpet.

Disbelief turned to proof.

A Story of Resilience

Erwin Visser was no stranger to 29,029 feet above sea level.

He had stood on top of the real Mount Everest in 2023 after a successful summit.

Then, just a few months later, he needed hip surgery.

The fact was that hip surgery would require lots of time to recover and rehab.

But Erwin’s story was one of continued climbing. He signed up for 29029 Stratton to achieve Everest in a different way.

Surrounded by cheers from the 29029 community, Erwin summited his 17th ascent in the afternoon on Saturday, grateful not just for another opportunity to Everest, but for the community that celebrated his effort as much as his achievement.

The Mountain You Couldn’t Always See

By Sunday evening, the gondolas wound down.

Facts could tell you the numbers:

29,029 vertical feet.

17 ascents.

36 hours.

250 climbers.

The facts said you climbed a mountain.

But stories gave meaning to what those numbers meant.

Your story said you became someone who could.

Because when you climb into the fog, even when the summit disappears and doubts start talking louder than reason, the story you tell yourself becomes the one that carries you higher.