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Top 10 Moments of 2023

By 29029 Everesting

December 22^nd, 2023

The past year in the 29029 community has been nothing short of extraordinary.

As we reflect on the year that was, let's revisit the top ten moments that defined our collective journey — moments of personal breakthroughs, community spirit, and the relentless pursuit of growth.

From the inspiring beginnings at Sun Valley, the triumphant strides in Jackson Hole, to the rain-soaked slopes of Stratton, each moment contributed to our shared narrative of resilience and discovery.

10- A New Season & a Fresh Start

Sun Valley has been a springboard for 29029 before. It played host to the first post-COVID 29029 event, launching the community into another long-awaited season of transformation and growth.

In 2023, Sun Valley was a springboard of a different kind - it was the first event back since our cofounders, Marc, Jesse, and Colin, bought the event back.

Going back to our roots meant the community stayed as intimate as ever. Instead of a focus on growth and scalability of 29029 events, we focused on the growth our participants could experience on the slopes.

Growth in character.

Growth in self-belief.

Growth in confidence.

Growth in life.

Standing at the summit in Sun Valley, one participant remarked, “Each step here felt like a step out of my old self.”

And that was just the first event of another epic 29029 season.

The second mountain of the season would be something entirely new…

9- A New Summit to Conquer

Born from the relentless grind of glaciers over millions of years, Jackson Hole played host to a different kind of relentlessness for the first time in 2023.

It played host to its first-ever 29029.

The unknown of this new mountain called an opportunity to etch your accomplishments onto the slopes of 29029's steepest and shortest mountain yet.

While we’re always keen to welcome newcomers that are our kind of crazy to 29029, Jackson Hole acted as a celebration of alumni, with the highest percentage of returning participants ever.

Not only did Jackson Hole welcome hundreds of our alumni, but it also acted as the backdrop for 19 alumni to pull on a Black Bib for the first time. The tenacity, dedication, and commitment these bibs represent put those characteristics on display for the entire community to see, acting as a beacon of inspiration and commitment to the ultimate goal - the personal growth found at the summit.

As our next moment will show, it wasn't always just growth found at the summit - sometimes there's a bit of snow too...

8 - An Everesty Ending

Mount Everest acts as our namesake - its 29,029 foot summit was the inspiration both for the enormity of our challenge, as well as our name.

It doesn’t matter which event you show up for - they all involve 29,029 vertical feet - but the summit of one in particular felt a little more Everesty than most in 2023.

In the heart of the coastal mountains of British Columbia, what was once a Red Carpet became obscured in a near whiteout blizzard at 29029 Whistler.

The red and white speckled summit played the backdrop to the epic transformations of accomplishment on full display from the brave 29029 community of climbers.

It was an everesty welcome for those that had conquered their own summits during the journey.

And to get to that snowy summit, participants needed a little help, which is our focus next.

7 - A Mountain of Support

It takes a monumental solo effort to undertake 29029 - anybody who toes the start line of any mountain does so with a mix of determination, grit, commitment, perseverance, and effort.

But those characteristics alone won’t get you to the summit.

To truly reach the top - to reach your true potential - you need a little help.

At 29029 that assistance takes many forms, including help from volunteers, friends, and supporters.

Whether it’s a helping hand, a genuine fist bump, a warm smile, a clever sign, a fun costume complete with over-the-top cheering, or creative aid-station food concoctions, there’s always an army of people rooting for you at 29029 and doing everything they can to keep you climbing.

We are all united by the single goal of getting everybody to their summit at 29029.

When it comes to support, there’s another category of people we failed to mention above, and that’s because they are deserving of their own place on our top ten moments, next.

6 - Climbing With Family

An experience as transformative as 29029 deserves to be shared with loved ones.

Some couples choose to climb side-by-side, growing not only individually, but growing their relationship too. Others choose to climb alongside children, cousins, aunts, and uncles for the transformative ride.

Others still come with massive support crews to witness the spectacle - friends and family alike that help cheer them on towards their summit.

Colin O’Brady, one of our co-founders, had this magical opportunity in Jackson. He climbed his final ascent with his newborn son on his chest, and his father beside him.

For Colin, it was a chance to share a moment of magic with his father, and set an example for his son.

Doing hard things is where the magic happens.

Even if you came alone to 29029 without friends or family, you weren’t alone for long.

As soon as you embarked on this journey, you became part of a larger family - the 29029 family: a family that wants to help you achieve your summit, whatever that looks.

That 29029 family plays host to hundreds of amazing individual stories. A few of those feature in our next top ten moment.

5 - Strength of the Community

Community is an important word at 29029.

This year, well over 1,500 new people climbed with us, each adding to the community in their own unique way. This paints a beautiful mosaic - thousands of stories coming together to build the strength of the 29029 community in thousands of unique ways.

Cowbell Rob has been a longtime super-supporter. The endurance and compassion he has shown at aid stations, rain or shine, for hundreds of hours over the years, has helped more than a few climbers reach their summit. In 2023, Rob finally climbed with us at Snowbasin. Yet, just because he was climbing, he did not choose to focus inward. He still looked outward - towards his fellow climbers - and offered a helping hand whenever possible.

Greg Waetzig tried to join us in 2022, but tragically broke his back one month out from the event in a climbing accident. A normal person might have quit and given up on their dream, but not Greg. He arrived in Whistler in 2022 to spectate, only one month after his injury. After a year of patience, this year Greg returned to Whistler to finally challenge the summit. His patience paid off, and he earned his Red Hat on the wintery slopes of Whistler.

Helen Tulloh was registered for Stratton this year, but an untimely injury meant she was in a boot and unable to climb. She could have sulked. She could have turtled. She could have withdrawn. But instead, much like Greg in 2022, she answered the call of the community, even if she couldn’t climb herself. Helen was extremely active with the community online, and offered up help as an airport shuttle to Albany for anyone who needed it. She persevered in the mud and rain in her boot at Stratton, not to climb, but to cheer on and support her 29029 family.

Rob, Greg, and Helen all showed they were committed to the community, much like those in our next moment.

4 - Coaches

If you go up to somebody uninformed and ask them if they think they can climb 29,029 vertical feet in 36 hours, almost all of them would say no.

If you’re being honest with yourself, there’s probably a chance you also doubted it before you arrived on the mountain.

Breaking through that self-doubt - fostering a stronger sense of belief - is part of the magic of 29029, and after you took the first step of bravery by signing up, our coaches stepped in to provide the map to self-belief.

What should I expect? How do I handle it when it gets hard? What should I do when I want to quit?

Our Coaches were there to answer your questions and help prepare you for the summit with a comprehensive training program, Coaching Calls, and helpful guidance during your journey.

But they didn't stop there. They climb the slopes at each 29029 mountain alongside you. They kept a watchful eye on you, stepping in when needed to help you get to your summit.

For 2024, we’re thrilled to announce the expansion of our world-class coaches - with 11 of them to help lead you over the trail and up the mountains.

Our coaches are true experts when it comes to knowing what it takes to summit, something the three individuals in our next moment know something about too...

3 - Ten Time Finishers

A single 29029 is a monumental accomplishment. Multiple 29029s is even more monumental.

For some, 29029 isn’t enough. Some feel the call to keep climbing - to keep working on themselves and proving their mettle. For some, they’ve climbed 290,290 feet - ten times they’ve Everested.

The monumental milestones started with Joannie Rich in Sun Valley. She was at the start line at the very first 29029 in 2017, which set her down the path of answering the call of the challenge. From comparatively easy attempts, to times that felt so hard she worried she was a fraud on the slopes, Joannie has experienced the highs and lows that come with such an effort. She’s addicted to the challenge - it keeps her coming back for more.

The next 10x finisher in 2023 came at Whistler where Thomas Zebley cemented his name in 29029 legacy. What started as a one-off event where a drainpipe taught him a simple lesson turned into a repeat experience. Zebley noticed the changes in his life - how he was better after having conquered the mountain - and decided not only did he want more of it for himself, he wanted to share it with others. He’s been on a mission ever since to bring as many of his colleagues, friends, and clients with him to 29029 to tackle the mountain alongside him. And he hasn’t stopped climbing since.

To put an exclamation mark on the season, Patrick Keeble completed his 10th 29029 on the torrentially wet slopes of Stratton. A mix of Patrick’s fascination with Mount Everest, and the parallels of mountain climbing and his sobriety, led him to register for his first 29029 in 2021. Of course, he loved the feeling of achievement, but what really stuck with him was the community. On every mountain he’s climbed since, he’s become a fixture at the summit after he earns his Red Hat - always there with words of encouragement for his climbing compatriots.

Joannie, Zebley, and Patrick act as a guidepost for what the 29029 community stands for. They exemplify the characteristics that we all strive to display on the slopes: determination, compassion, grit, care, and effort, among many more.

A milestone as magnificent as the one they reached deserved an equally magnificent reward - a Red Hat 10x the size!

To earn that oversized Red Hat, they had to exemplify a lot of commitment, which leads us to our penultimate 29029 moment of 2023.

2 - The Characteristic of the Season

It takes a lot of characteristics to climb 29,029 feet.

Out of the many characteristics it took to achieve your Everest in 2023, the defining one was commitment.

Not only was it exemplified all over the slopes of every mountain this year, it was on full display well before the first footstep toward the summit was taken.

29029 is a journey, and it starts with the training. We all have no shortage of commitments in life, which is what made the commitment to training all the more impressive. From attendance in coaching calls, early morning workouts, long hikes or runs to prepare, and more, your commitment was on display early and often.

And once you hit the slopes, that commitment only solidified. You were committed to doing something hard - you were committed to seeing it through to the end, regardless of whether that meant the Red Hat or not.

Commitment kept you climbing. Commitment led to you leaving it all on the mountain. Commitment led to you running out the clock. Commitment led to you grinding it out, step by step. Commitment led you to personal growth that most could only dream about.

Commitment led you to a new realm of self-belief.

It was exemplified all over every mountain this year, and we’re sure it’ll be on display on every mountain in the future, which brings us to our final moment…

1 - Looking Forward

When you’re standing at the summit, a newfound clarity descends on you. From up there, you can see further.

In 2024, we’ll revisit all the same legendary mountains that have become a part of 29029 lore, while adding in one brand new destination: Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, Canada.

From the summit of a 29029 mountain, you find out you are capable of more than you ever thought possible. You become unstoppable. You become ready to rise to any challenge.

For 2024, we’ve answered the call and created a new challenge for those who have already Everested: 29029 Trail.

Like the original 29029 mountains, 29029 Trail is not a race. It’s still you versus you, only this time, the goal switches from vertical to horizontal - participants will be tackling 3 mountain marathons over 3 days: an equivalence in distance to the legendary Everest Base Camp Trek.

Doing hard things is not only the journey, but also the destination. What awaits on the other side of that trek, much like the summit, is a new and improved version of yourself.