36 HOURS TO CLIMB THE WORLD'S TALLEST MOUNTAIN

We are about to attempt to climb the vertical elevation of Mount Everest. Oh, my goodness. This isn't some crazy challenge that we just dreamed up on our own. We are two of about 250 people who signed up for an event called 29029.

Let's go.

The wind is no joke up here on top of the mountain. Our body temperatures drop so fast, the organizers have rented out the entire Stratton ski resort here in Vermont. They built a base camp at the bottom of the slopes and laid a trail to the Summit which is 1.35 miles and gained 71750ft in vertical elevation. Which means that we have to climb this mountain 17 times in the next 36 hours.

Go.

So let me show you around our new home. Even though I don't think we're going to be spending much time in here. Ta da. It's very simple, yet luxurious. They left us lots of fun gifts.

Some of this stuff on this bed slightly concerns me. One pack of anti chafing cream. Another thing of chafing cream.

This is really just a place for us to leave all of our stuff. We've got some brand new Walmart hiking sticks that we have yet to open. This is my very first bib. Oh, my gosh. It has my name on it.

Wow. You look good in that.

Thanks. I wonder if anybody else here has never run a race before. It's not a race. And I'm also not running.

This is the first time she has ever signed up for paid and done, like, an organized athletic event.

Excuse me. I rode 455 miles.

Oh, yeah. Good point.

Good point.

We'll take this.

I also walked 33 miles.

That was not an organized event. Let's be great for this one day. Let's have an amazing attitude. I want everybody here to earn it tomorrow. No freebies.

Are we gonna grease it up tonight? No.

Cause now we can snuggle. That's better.

I don't think anybody's gonna steal our Walmart hiking place.

This is the most nervous I've ever been in. I truly don't think I've ever signed up for something that I was so uncertain if I would finish.

Gotta get some rest. Good night.

I just want to say, to do exceptional things, you gotta put yourself in an exceptional situation. All right? But think about it, man. I'm gonna start in.

Here we go, y'. All. Enjoy.

We are officially on the mountain. It's a slightly anticlimactic start.

We are officially on the mountain.

Here we go. Everyone's moving in A turtle's base.

There's been so much energy last night and even this morning before the race started, but as soon as they say go, everybody's just been hiking up the mountain in silence.

Lost the team about five minutes in. Who knows when we'll meet back up again.

Fifteen minutes in and the sun's starting to already come up. One thing's for sure, there are going to be no easy laps.

First aid station, Just going to grab a sip of water and a snack for the road and hopefully get to the top before the sunrise.

Hey, there she is. A third of the way up the mountain and I'm already down to a T shirt and shorts.

The lady at the aid station did not lie.

This is the easy part. Gets really fun up there.

I think we're taking the steepest, most direct route to the summit.

Oh, no. Oh, yeah. That's it for the feet. I made it a half mile and maybe 500 vertical feet into this race with dry feet. Only 28,500 more to go.

It's so beautiful right now. The sun coming up and the clouds.

But the day doesn't actually start till the sun rises. So all this that we're doing right now, it's kind of like eating on an airplane. The calories don't count, miles don't count towards making my legs sore. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

We've climbed a thousand feet. Less than a half mile to the summit. We're so close.

500Ft to go.

I see the top.

Wow. We're gonna go under an hour on the first lap. I'm sure I won't have this much energy later, but while I have it, I'm gonna use it.

Oh, gosh.

Hey, good work.

6:54.

6:54. 54 minutes on the first lap.

Nice job, guys.

Woo. The view from the top, I feel so much better than I expected to after that first lap. Look at this. They have wa. Woohoo.

You are happy. Happy. I got pretzels.

Honestly, that first lap was a blur. Like, it doesn't even feel like it happened.

I couldn't believe it. Enough to get our feet wet, right?

Yeah, exactly.

This is the best pretzel I've ever had.

We're ahead of the pros. I'm feeling good about it.

Here we go.

So the way this works is we hike up and then we ride the gondola down. So we're only doing vertical elevation today.

Woo. Woo. I have so much energy right now.

Kara is a completely different person than she was Last night and this morning. So true.

It was so weird. I didn't even feel like me. I had this negative energy and, like, anger towards my body. About a month ago, I hurt my back.

Ah.

This could not have happened at a worse time. I was just mad that I couldn't, like, give it a fair shot. Like, I knew it was gonna be hard no matter what, but it was gonna be hard from the start because I was, like, partly injured. But I talked to this girl who made me feel so much better, and she snapped me out of it. And it is just as much mental as it is physical. So I'm staying mentally strong.

Let's go. Kara is cr. She's so happy. It's like everything she was holding in last night and this morning, all that excitement is now finally coming out.

Let's get ran. I got the Buchanans going on for the very first.

As well.

Oh, that was lit.

Nate, that was terrible. So embarrassing. You just started.

I burned it.

Well, okay.

How do I do it?

Better. All right, Kara. Better than Nate. That's all we need is better than Nate. Cara has a kneeling technique. You actually never seen this?

You burnt the bottom.

All right, second lap. Here we go.

Those not keep getting better.

We signed up for this event pretty last minute, but I didn't realize just how last minute until they sent us the 20 week training plan. And we had five weeks until the event started. Not only that, but I ended up having to have a decent sized chunk of skin cancer cut out of my head a few weeks ago. So I've been able to do no training leading up to the event. In the last few weeks, anytime his.

Blood pressure got going, his head would start bleeding.

But I made it a lap. No blood, according to Kara. Are you lying to me?

No.

I'm so thankful that's healing up.

Whoo. Don't hurt yourself.

You see, the top end of the second lap was 8:20.

We did lap two in under an hour. I can't believe it.

Look at how gross my shoes already are.

Oh, Nate.

I did not expect expect to have any easy laps. And I feel like the first two have been relatively easy. So no matter how much harder it gets, I'm grateful for those two. It's two laps less of suffer than I originally thought I was gonna have. I think one of the best parts about this event is it's gonna be getting to try all the snacks.

I'm eating solid chocolate cake icing with protein. This is the best day ever.

You didn't know when you clicked on this Video that it was gonna be a.

Okay.

Much better than the first time. The Walmart adventure hats have been a huge hit. Didn't realize how much attention we would draw.

I can already tell you one of the best things about this event is going to be all the people we meet. You just kind of get like lost in conversation and yeah, get about the.

Vert for a minute. Not only is the weather absolutely perfect, but the trees. It's like a fall oasis.

I'm hiking an extra 10ft of elevation for this shot. Look cool.

This is the worst section of the trail. Right after the first aid station. Not only because I'm pretty sure it's the steepest, but it's wet and slippery.

Almost there. 1500ft.

We're hurting.

Alright. Lap 3 is finished at 9:30. She's still dancing. So those red hats on that wall back there, that's the goal. You get one of those after you finish. 29,000ft. Haven't had watermelon yet. We'll try that one.

Somehow. Our third lap was our fastest lap. We got up in 50 minutes and I felt a lot slower that time. That one was hard.

First two laps we were up running around, having fun in the gondola. That lap kind of hurt and I.

Feel like I just got a small taste of what the next 24 hours is gonna look like.

My feet are completely soaked.

We're gonna fix Joey tip number four. The last half mile is kicking my butt on this one. I feel like this is the first time that it's been really hard for me.

Lap number four. Still dancing.

So much energy starts coursing through my blood as soon as I hit this flat ground.

They're all her jam when she gets to the top. Coming for you. We talked to two different people on the way up. I didn't think about walking one time, didn't think about my legs one time. There are some very interesting people here.

I don't even remember lap four.

There we go.

There we go.

I've only done it four times. The check mark is when you reach each ascent. Looking good. So you got four climbs down.

So you're at.

How did we decide? It's pronounced Kusco. Do you know where it is? Australia. Right.

Ooh.

I think give me a check mark, mate. We climbed a mountain in Australia. That's your first one. You've got your first check mark of seven.

I'm starting my day with 75 vitamins, minerals and whole food source ingredients. So I know my body is getting all the nutrients it needs and we all know it needs it today. This green juice that I'm chugging here is called AG1 by athletic greens and they are the sponsor of this video. Nate and I discovered this stuff in June of 2020 and I can honestly say it has been a part of our daily routine ever since. Since we're always traveling, our diets are all over the place. So even though I try really, really hard, it's pretty much impossible for our bodies to get the nutrients they need based on our diets alone. So whether we're climbing a mountain 17 times or just hanging out in the van, we always make AG1 a priority because not only does it make a feel great, but it also supports gut, health, energy, immunity and stress. All the ingredients are super high quality and one of my favorite things about the company is that they're constantly updating the formula based on new research. So it just keeps getting better and better with time, like a fine wine. It doesn't taste like wine, but I actually think it's really good. So if you're ready to fill the nutritional gaps in your diet, AG1 is a no brainer. If you click our link in the description below, you can get the AG1 immunity bundle, which includes all this stuff and a free one year supply of vitamin D drops, which are great supporting your immune system. We take these every day too. It doesn't taste like anything. Plus you'll get five of these travel packs for free with your first purchase.

This is 1109. We're on lap number five and it's starting to rain.

I'm really hoping this blows over and doesn't just completely soak me to the bone.

I brought 12 other outfits.

All right, we're at the top of lap five. I'm soaking wet. I'm not sure if it's from sweat.

Or the rain, but definitely a combo.

Very damp everywhere.

We did it in an hour.

And Nate, Woohoo.

Thanks for the energy.

Living a good life. You pretty much have an excuse to do whatever you want right now.

Let that blood come back down.

This is the longest we've taken a break. Making me really nervous. I don't want to get behind. I don't want my legs to lock up.

Five band aids for five laps.

Yeah. Starting lap number six in the rain.

Lap six.

So yesterday when I was in a funk all day long, I said that this girl really brought me out of it. And that is this girl. Hello, Hana. She was my guardian angel both last night and today. You're the best.

Lap seven 54. We're staying on pace. Let's go. It's the 29029 mascot.

What's our banana count? Oh, at least. Banana number eight. I think I'm on like 12.

Can you overdose on potassium? Never. All right, we're starting. Lap eight.

That was eight, baby.

That was the first pretty challenging one for me. I think I got off on my food and got the shakes on the way up, but we made it. Feeling better at the top than I did halfway up.

Loving all the recycling bins.

Last. Number nine.

Oh, boy.

Feeling a bit weak. I don't even know what I'm trying to say right now.

Cow bell. More cow bell. Yeah, buddy. The energy of the volunteers still pulling us through on lap nine.

Look at this service. Starting to get a blister on my heel. Doc's just patching right up. Wow. Even pull the sock up. So rubbing on my heel wasn't unbearable yet. But I don't want it to get to that point. He hadn't even started his shift as a volunteer and he was down there with my stinky foot. First class service.

Summit number nine dance. The fog has rolled in and completely covered up the mountain we climbed into the clouds.

I'm surprised we're both still smiling at summit number nine. Still not as bad as I thought it was going to be. D C S is back in our life.

How you doing? Do you know what lap nine means?

We've climbed 15,000ft over halfway.

Just barely. We have to do everything we just did again.

That's pretty crazy.

Don't even think about it.

That is the most vertical elevation I've ever climbed in my entire life. And now I have to do it all again. All right.

I gotta stop dancing. Dancing. 16,050.

I love it. I'm so excited. And then we get another one. Next time. No.

So we have officially climbed the vertical elevation of the tallest mountain in Antarctica, Mount Vincent. We've been given a new red X on the back of our jersey.

It does good job.

We're the majority of the way through. Lap 10. The headlamps are coming out. This is the last bit of light we may see on this mountain. Right now. We're considering trying to hike through the night, which, if we do that and we can keep up a similar pace, we should finish sometime before the sun rises. How you feeling on lap 10?

So much better than lap 9. Changing my shoes and socks changed everything.

Lag number 10 is finished.

We have officially been going for over 12 hours. More cowbell. Thank you. Thank you. The red hats are in reach. You're almost there. So much colder up here at the top of the mountain. The wind is whipping. What?

Ben and Jerry, have I entered a dream?

Vanilla caramel fudge. Oh, my goodness. Yes, please.

How did we get so lucky? I love it.

There's only one disco gondola, and as soon as we walked up the first lap when it got dark, it was just sitting there waiting for us.

Lap 10 is complete, and I'm coming in the building for the first time. See what kind of dinner foods they have. Trying to have the quickest dinner of all time. She's got a warm, beautiful bowl of vegetables and noodles. I'm not even sitting down because I'm so nervous my legs are gonna lock up.

You should sit. Really?

Okay, you convince me. All right, lap 11. Here we go. We have not made a big enough deal of these Walmart hiking poles. I was skeptical, but I literally couldn't have done it without them.

I'm blind. I can't see anything.

I love it. How are you feeling?

Great. Five. Number 11.

That one felt the longest for me. Honestly.

One hour on the dot.

Wow, Augie. Woo.

You guys are awesome.

Those things seem dangerous. Thank you.

Here we go. Lane at 29 on 29. Kilimanjaro. We've climbed Kilimanjaro.

I feel like Kilimanjaro has been on my bucket list forever. And so to climb the height of Kilimanjaro and it's really hard to do math right now. 15 hours. Feels mind blowing.

Feels so good.

It's all just getting weird now.

I just found a hole. Leave the charge up there. Lap number 12. Let's do this. My feet are hurting with every step. Backs. My knees are hurting with every step. You just gotta keep talking.

We made it to the first aid station, and the rain is right on time. The rest of the night's just gonna get more interesting from here.

Trail starts now.

This one circular dot lighting the grass in front of me. It's pretty much gonna be our view for the next seven hours. The rain is manageable right now, but it's definitely making the trail slicker. Every few steps, I take about a half step backwards.

LAP12 has been a very quiet one.

I hate the rain, but I love it at the same time. It just makes it feel so much more hardcore. We just did lap 12 in almost exactly an hour. World's best volunteers.

The wind does not help, does it? But you're smiling.

I love you.

All right, Tim, we're getting close to the bottom. Did anybody actually Fall asleep.

I feel like if I had like two more minutes. You feel regenerated.

No.

Denali, baby.

Highest mountain in North America.

Denali done that felt like a big good X.

That looks sad.

All right, we are starting lap 13 in a full on rainstorm.

It's almost 11 o'.

Clock.

Getting a little sleepy, so. Hello, midnight Comey. Lap 13 complete. Still on our one hour pace for a lap, which is unbelievable.

Is this our last check mark before Everest? Four more laps.

It's a new day. Happy Saturday, everybody. Lap 14. I just changed all of my clothes. I was very soggy and I was hopeful that the rain was slowing down. But it's still raining. I think it was worth it for this momentary bliss.

We are midway through lap 14. It's completely quit raining, which I'm super grateful for. But what I'm even more grateful for is that we've gotten to do all 14 laps together.

Isn't it crazy?

We talked for so long about our strategy. Were we going to hike together? Was I going to go ahead? And we had ultimately decided that we'd hike the first lap together and see how we were feeling. So we've done 14 together and we're for sure doing the last three.

Yes, we are.

Lap 14 is in the book.

Lap 14. They had hot coffee at that rest station. It's instant but I'll take whatever it takes.

Our body temperatures dropped so fast up at the top, so they gave us a space blanket to warm up. I think I might get sleep.

It's 1:30 in the morning.

Fading fast.

We've been climbing for so long and we're still going. It's kind of fun being the only ones out here. There were like three people on the mountain. It makes it feel extra hardcore and I'm feeling a little delirious at this point. It's all just gonna feel like a dream tomorrow.

Screen is so dirty. 156, lap number 15.

We follow quite a few ultra endurance racers and a common theme is to have a mantra that you repeat to yourself when you're just feeling low. I've just been telling myself, future me loves past pain. I feel like the wording needs some work out of all the things we've done. As soon as I'm done, I get this adrenaline rush even if I'm still in pain. And I'm just so pumped that we did it that all the pain just goes away. And I absolutely love that we've accomplished something so great. And I'm just trying to remind myself of that over and over.

I've decided mine, for at least tonight is. Nothing great is done without pain.

So we stopped for a snack and it started monsooning outside. So this has been our longest break yet. We're not really sure if we're gonna get back up.

Dangerous game. But we're halfway up the mountain and we're not gonna go back down.

We're not going back down. I'm scared to stand up.

Okay, let's do this. See you in a little over an hour. Here we go. It's still raining, but not too bad. I'm glad we waited it out. It's crazy how few people are out here. Those lights you see are the gondolas and the little lights on the side of the trail. I think our group is one of maybe three or four other people that we've seen nobody behind us. What are we doing.

And why? The answer is, why not come? I know. For the record, it's 2:35 in the morning. We have been walking for. Oh, gosh. We've been walking for 20 and a half hours.

Just finished lap 14 at 3:18.

I'm further than I thought. Two more laps and then the red hats are ours. It's past three in the morning. I feel a little delirious, like I'm just. I'm just in this dream. All my life is at this point is ride the gondola down, start walking back up again. What Was life before? 29 or 29?

Steaming. Nice.

Two more laps. Thank you.

Congratulations. We're not jealous at all. Last one.

Lap number 16 of 17 starts now. I am so tired, like, in my head. Like my body's been tired for a long time. But even though I've had two coffees and a couple energy drinks, I don't think anything's bringing me back to life until I get that red hat.

I think the worst laps are behind us. Either that or the finish lines in sight. And everything's feeling just a little bit easier.

I think the rain has finally stopped.

All right. Second to last lap was finished at 5:02. We've now been awake for over 23 hours. She finished. Nice hat. It's gonna be a lonely last lap without you.

I know.

Excited?

A red bear look like a Christmas tree.

Thank you, sir. The red bib signifies that we're on our last lap. I am so impressed with how well my body has held up up to this point. And I have now been hiking for over 23 hours in the exact same soaking wet tennis shoes and soaking wet socks. Let's Go to the top.

Climb Mount Everest. We're starting for the last time. I never have to make these steps ever again.

We Woke up at 4:30 yesterday morning.

Strong start. I'm pretty sure 26 hours is the longest I've ever been awake anyway, Much less climbing straight up a mountain for all 26 of those hours. I can't believe I'm functioning at the level I'm at right now.

I'm gonna miss y'. All. I can't believe this is our last time together. Bye, guys. Thank you for everything. Those guys kept us going at the halfway point all night. Feels weird knowing we're not going back to these places.

Let's do this.

We're so close. Sunrise. Starting to rain.

So close.

The worst weather of the whole event in the last two minutes.

This is brutal.

What a finish.

Thank you. This is crazy. 29. Oh, 29 is finished with a few more steps.

Oh, my gosh.

It's happening.

There's a red carpet.

Go for it. All for you. Here we go.

You are awesome. This is great. Congratulations. Five hours and one minute later.

Oh. Together. Every step of the way.

Oh, my gosh.

I can't believe we're here.

That was so hard.

Give me my red hat. I like this super wet one.

Oh, it's good. Like, you have mascara running all down your face. I.

Am so proud of you.

Thank you.

So proud.

Thank you for singing with me.

Proud of you.

What do we do now?

Whatever you want. Oh, my goodness. I'm so glad we hiked in the night. We don't have to do this anymore. Wow. This is crazy.

It is absolutely incredible what the body is capable of. Not only have we been up for 20, 27 hours, but we hiked the entire time. And we've never done anything close to this before. Throughout the event, one of the conversations that you'd have with people walking by was, why are you doing this? And I hadn't really thought deeply about it, but last summer, I got invited to do the Colorado Trail, and that was probably the first physical thing I ever attempted that I didn't think I could do. And I finished 500 miles across Colorado on a mountain bike. And ever since then, I've just been more and more interested of how far I can push my body.

I did not know if I could do this. That's what's so crazy. We climbed Mount Everest.

We did it.

Wow. We did it. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

You won.

9, 10. Not sleeping put us in the top 10 finishers of the entire event. There are 250 people doing this. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that would happen.

Oh, my gosh. They're, like, shriveled up.

My foot looks like it's 100 years old.

Wow. That's crazy. These are, like, crazy compression boots. And it's the best feeling in the world right now.

This is the best day of my entire life.