3 Million Feet Uphill: Meet the Man Skiing Toward a Vert World Record

When Noah Dines answered the phone, his breath was labored, and I could hear crunching snow in the background. It was July 5, and he was skiing uphill on Mount Hood. As of that phone call, the 30-year-old Bedford, Mass., native said he’d already logged 2,067,000 vertical feet uphill toward his goal of hitting 3 million in a year.

“That’s like 400-something-thousand feet ahead of pace,” he said. His previous record in a year was around 700,000 vertical feet. When we spoke, he sounded cautiously optimistic about his shot at this world record.

“There’s a lot of emotions. I think you have to be pretty darn confident,” Dines said. “And I haven’t gotten there yet, so who knows? It’s huge numbers with a pretty small margin for error.”

The current record holder, Aaron Rice, climbed 2.5 million vertical feet in 2016. Dines began this journey at the outset of 2024. He started in January in Stowe, Vermont. In February, he skied in Chamonix, France. Through March, he was in Innsbruck and Saint Anton, Austria. Then, he came back to Vermont, New Hampshire, and Utah, and eventually traveled on to Oregon.

His sights are set on South America next.

In January alone, Dines broke the record for most uphill skied in a single month, climbing 378,024 feet. He has yet to break Rice’s 2016 record. But he is well on his way, with 5 months left on the clock. And if he reaches 3 million before the end of the year, he said he won’t stop. That figure is just a guide. In all likelihood, Dines will be up the very next day, racking up more vert.

“Maybe I’ll sleep in the morning after 3 million,” he said. “But also, maybe I won’t. I might just be so psyched that I need to go skiing.“

GearJunkie caught up with Dines ahead of the world record to discuss his journey, its highs and lows, and his gear — as well as to clarify a few things for the haters.

Noah Dines Q&A: Skiing 3 Million Vertical Feet in a Year

GearJunkie: What inspired you to set out to break the record for the most vert skied uphill in a year?

Noah Dines: In some ways, it was a long time coming. I’d been increasing volume and skiing a lot. I’d done an everesting on a bike and an everesting on skis. And I was kind of at a transitional period in terms of work and jobs and whatnot … I was driving back from a not-so-great date in Burlington, and it kind of just came to me like, I should go for Aaron Rice’s record.

People had suggested it before. But I’d said, “No, that sounds unfun.” But I just think I was at a place where I could do it, and it would be fun; that my fitness was there, that my mental fortitude and, in some ways, my calmness was there. So that was early February 2023. And that’s been pretty much what I think about since then.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Noah Dines (@noah.dines)

What does an average day look like when you’re trying to ski 3 million feet uphill in a year?

It really depends on where I am. A Mount Hood day is … I wake up in my truck — the back of my totally underpowered 2003 Toyota Tacoma. (For all the people on the internet who are all so sure that I have a trust fund).

And then I drive to the rest stop in Government camp, use the bathroom, then I grab two cups of coffee, drive up to the hill, boot up, start walking. I ski 10-12,000 feet. Get down. Drink a can of Coke. Sit around in the parking lot for a while. Maybe even fall asleep. Drive down, hang out, go for a swim. Go food shopping. Complain about the heat and eventually fall asleep around 10:00 p.m.

Have you taken any significant breaks since you started skiing?

No. I have 6 days without touching snow … I don’t take rest days or anything.

What have been your health priorities and recovery routines, then?

Health-wise, I definitely have toned down the skiing a little bit. Not a lot, but, eating, fueling, and making sure that I feel fueled throughout the day and week are really important.

And for recovery, I’m a really big fan of resting — but not sleeping. So, like, vegging on a couch or in the truck or wherever. Just, like, really chill. And that’s my priority. I don’t have crazy, complicated routines. I make sure I get lots of carbs, get some protein. But if I’m not skiing, I just try not to burn a lot of energy.

What kinds of foods does your diet include?

Bread products … In France and Austria, I ate a ton of pastries and fresh bread. Here, a lot of, like, packaged muffins and bagels and whatnot. Haribo candy, that kind of stuff on the uphill. I don’t have a nutrition sponsor, so I’m free to eat whatever crap I want … And then, like, chicken turkey sandwiches and, you know, whatever is available. It’s so location-dependent.

Were you traveling specifically to ski good snow? Or traveling for personal reasons?

I kind of knew I would have to travel but have tried to reduce it because traveling is exhausting, expensive, and environmentally not great. Hence, the big blocks. [New Hampshire] was just a day trip to the Whites … Everything I am doing this year is in pursuit of the goal. I wasn’t going to visit anybody or anything.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Noah Dines (@noah.dines)

Why not stay at a place like Hood all year long and knock out all 3 million safely in one spot?

Because conditions are generally terrible, requiring tons of walking late in summer and unsafe with avalanches and weather in the winter … For example, y0ou can’t ski at Stowe in July. Everywhere has a season … [Also],. Stowe ran out of snow, and access to the mountain with manmade snow is severely limited.

So you mentioned people online making comments about how you must have a trust fund. How have you been funding this endeavor?

So the money thing has been very funny because people are so sure I have a trust fund. If I do, I’d love somebody to tell me about it. I could really use it. But. Yeah.

Turns out people on the internet love giving me money, so I’ve gotten a lot of crowdsourced funding. I didn’t want to do that because people should go take their money and ski. But I guess people derive entertainment from what I’m doing, so that’s fine.

I also came into this [prepared] and am still prepared to spend a lot of my own savings. I’m doing this because I want to do it, not to get rich. I’ve been good with money. I’ve never worked a fancy job; I’ve worked in education my whole life. I don’t spend a lot of money on stuff and whatever. So I have savings.

Have you had much luck getting sponsors behind you?

There’s a little bit of sponsor money, and I’m hoping that as I’ve proven myself, more will come. I came into this with really no athletic background or anything. So I went to companies saying, “Hey, I’m going to do this.” And they were like, “Maybe. But probably not. And why would I believe you?”

They weren’t actually saying that, but they were thinking it. Like, “Who are you?” But now that I’ve shown that I can throw down some big numbers and ski with some bigger names, I’m hoping [to get more sponsorships].

When you hit 3 million, what’s the plan? Are you going to keep skiing? Or are you going to call it right on the mark?

No. I set out to ski and challenge myself for one year and to see what I can do in a year. The 3 million is like a guide and a goal. But, you know, there are other numbers. The numbers keep going up after 3 million. 1,000,000 meters is something. It’s a reach goal. That’s like 3,280,000 feet. I’m not committed to that, but I know that number exists. I want to do my absolute best.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Noah Dines (@noah.dines)

What have been some of the biggest challenges along the way so far?

Weather. It’s been hot. I’ve intentionally skied more in spring, but especially when I was in Europe, it was incredibly hot, and there wasn’t snow. So that was super draining and frustrating. There was a big heat wave here like a week or two ago. And also, when I was skiing in Utah, it got to like 77 or 78 degrees at 10,000 feet. Which is just really hot. It’s sick if you’re doing one lap. But it’s a big challenge if you’re doing five or six.

Then, trying to recover but living in the truck. When it’s hot, it’s really hard because instead of recovering your body is still fighting to cool down. And you’re just getting zapped and losing energy when you need to be bringing it back. So that’s not fun.

On the flip side, what have been some of the high points for you?

Especially on this West Coast swing, I’ve met and gotten to ski with some really damn cool people. You know, some civilians and then, like Steven Nyman, who is the American downhill or Fischer boy. He came in with me and then I lived at his house for like 10 days or something. Just the nicest guy in the world. I’ve run into Shaun White and Jimmy Chin.

And then, the other day, I summited Mount Hood with just an absolutely absurd cast of all-stars. Jeremy Jones. Kai Jones. Cass Jones. Parkin Costin and their friend Hayes … It was really cool … Oh! And we were talking about the haters [earlier]. The people who have been most interested and supportive are the ones who have achieved and know what it’s like to push themselves. There’s a cool mutual admiration and awe.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Noah Dines (@noah.dines)

The Gear Taking Dines to 3 Million Vert

We couldn’t talk with someone like Dines without the topic of gear coming up. Naturally, we were curious about what kind of equipment the aspiring world record-breaker holder was using to pursue his goal. Any skimo gear that can hold up for 3 million vertical feet is worth touching on.

Here’s the shortlist, with some of Dines’ commentary.

• Fischer Travers CT Touring Boots: “The pair I’m on currently has just about 1.7 million vertical feet — the shells, not the liners. Which I’ve been pretty blown away by that durability. It’s not the lightest boot, but it skis quite well.”
• Fischer Trans Alp RC Carbon Touring Skis: “It’s a skimo ski, but it’s nice and stiff and snappy, and it’s just damn light. And for skimo, it’s the best skimo ski I’ve ever skied.”
• Fischer Trans Alp 86 CTE Pro: “It’s really fantastic on steeps. It’s still quite light. Steeps, ice, that kind of stuff — going edge to edge. It’s just a marvelous ski.”
• ATK Trofeo Binding: “ATK makes the best bindings in the world, and, the Trofeo is my binding of choice. Simple. Durable. Light. Sturdy. And critically like, I don’t think about it. It just works.”
• TR carbon race poles: “I just wore through the cork grip, which is now being placed.”
• Maloja Berber Jacket: “It’s just the best for moving quickly through the mountains. It’s got two big skin pockets. Fits really well. Keeps me cool and keeps some elements out.”
• Skins: “I’ve used most skin manufacturers this year”
• Uvex Pace Stage CV glasses

Follow Dines to the World Record

Dines said he’s learned a lot about creating content and keeping people posted about his journey since he started. Peruse his Instagram account (@noah.dines) and you’ll find frequent video posts and updates about Dines’ progress toward his goal. His Linktree links to his Strava account and substack (titled “The Big Ski Year”).

If you want to donate to his crowdfunding, Dines’ GoFundMe account can be found here. And if you want to listen to him talk more about his quest for the world record of vertical feet skied uphill, he appeared on episode 283 of the Out of Bounds podcast.

Dines was cautious not to talk about the record in the past tense, even though he’s so close now. He mindfully qualified any statement about finishing with, “I haven’t gotten there yet.” He’s ahead of pace, though — by a wide margin. Follow him on social media to stay up to date and to stay tuned in for the day he breaks the world record for vertical feet skied.