A few weeks back I posted a story about a new Mountain Hardwear sponsored athlete by the name of Matt Moniz, who at the age of 12 has already summitted some big peaks, including Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, and Elbrus. At the time of that story, he had also recently climbed Denali, Mt. Whitney, and Mt. Elbert, all in a span of just 8 days. It turns out, that was just part of his plan to climb the 50 highest points, in all 50 states, in just 50 days. Matt, and his father Mike, have been knocking off those high points in rapid succession, and now have a chance of setting a new record for completing that feat.
According to the 50-50-50 Climb website, the father and son climbing team have now finished 48 of the 50 states. The last update came yesterday, July 12th, at the 38th day of the trip. According to the Hardwear Sessions Blog, Mike and Matt are currently in Montana, where they are taking on Granite Peak, the tallest mountain in that state. If they summit successfully, they’ll catch a flight in the next day or two for Hawaii, where they’ll climb Mauna Kea, the final obstacle in their path. If the can manage to do that in less than 45 days, 19 hours, and 2 minutes, they’ll break the 50 high points in 50 states record, currently held by Mike Haugen, who set the mark back in 2008.
Good luck guys!
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All incredible achievements, especially by age 12! Best of luck for the final stages of the 50-50-50.
I just bumped into these people coming back from a day hike in Montana.