Mike Foote sets record for vertical feet skied in 24 hours

Professional endurance athlete Mike Foote made history in Whitefish on Sunday when he climbed up and skied down a staggering 61,200 vertical feet in 24 hours, setting a new world record.

It was a feat that even Foote, a seasoned ultra-runner, wasn’t sure he could accomplish. In an Instagram post the day before his attempt, the Missoula resident wrote: “To be honest, it’s the loftiest goal I’ve set for myself since my first 100-miler, and I’m not sure I can do it. I do know, however, that I’m willing to give it everything I’ve got.”

And that he did.

At 9 a.m. on March 18, Foote set off on Ed’s Run at Whitefish Mountain Resort, knocking off the first 1,020 feet in just over 20 minutes. For each pass, Foote attached special skins to the bottom of his skis, which allowed him to get traction as he climbed uphill. When he reached the summit, he removed the skins, skied to the bottom and began the whole process all over again.

For 24 hours.

What on Earth would posses someone to attempt such a feat?

Foote was already an established ultra-runner with a North Face sponsorship and first-place finishes at France’s Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, and races in Moab and the Andes, not to mention his notable 600-mile jaunt from Missoula to Banff in 2015.

Foote was inspired to delve into ski-mountaineering by veteran skimo champ Brandon French and Ben Parsons, a local backcountry skier who died in an avalanche last year. When Foote learned there was a record for vertical feet skied in a day, there was no going back.

And what better place to make his attempt than Whitefish? Foote spent three years as a ski-patroller at Whitefish Mountain Resort and had a solid network of friends he could count on in the valley.

“To pull this off I needed a lot of support,” Foote said.

Throughout Sunday’s record-setting ski, Foote had friends pace him, feed him and keep him dry while he focused on covering terrain. And in his characteristically humble nature, he’s quick to credit his entourage.

“It was emotional. It’s something I wanted to do for a long time. For me, it’s always been a big part of sharing it with friends and family — to have that support was just huge,” he said. “To achieve it, but also to achieve it with so many friends that were close to me, it felt like it was truly a team effort and the perfect place to do it.”

Covering 61,200 vertical feet was no easy task.

Foote began to worry early on in his journey. The first two hours felt hard, harder than usual — and with 22 to go, he wondered if he could sustain the effort.

“I didn’t tell anybody at the time,” he said of his initial concern. “Slowly but surely, I began to find the rhythm.”

As his body warmed up, Foote found his groove.

He climbed the 1,000-plus feet to the top of Ed’s Run a total of 60 times, fueling his body every 20 to 30 minutes with sweet potatoes, rice balls, muffins and energy gels.

“I was kind of only grunting the last few hours and was just trying to stay upright. The descents were really hard … I had to slow down because my quads and my feet were in a lot of pain,” Foote said. “I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other and telling my legs to shut up. Definitely, the last handful of hours was all about constant movement and trying not to slow down.”

Slow down doesn’t seem to be in Foote’s vocabulary. After a week or so of rest, the athlete will be back at it again, preparing for his next ultra-marathon, the Hardrock 100 in Colorado.

But for now, he’s happy to have his feet out of his ski boots and his name in the record books.

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss may be reached at 758-4433 or mreiss@dailyinterlake.com.