The Elevation Everest endurance race is scheduled for Sept. 27 at Winter Park Resort, challenging athletes to climb up to 29,032 feet of elevation in under 17 hours.

From 6:30 a.m. until midnight, trail runners will ascend the Ute Trail, covering 2.2 miles and 1,600 feet of elevation gain, before riding the gondola down. They will repeat this cycle until they climb either half or the entire elevation of Mt. Everest. Runners may opt to compete solo or on a relay team of up to five participants.

The event, created by former Ironman athlete Dan Mosko, combines the grit of endurance racing with the energy of a mountain festival. According to Mosko, Elevation Everest has been designated as Colorado’s 2025 endurance event of the year after the success of its debut in 2024.

One competitor managed to summit the full 29,032 feet of Everest’s elevation last year, finishing with just two and a half minutes left before the cutoff. That performance, Mosko said, helped solidify the event’s reputation. But this year, he expects an even bigger playing field.

“We’ve got people coming from 44 states and three different countries, so I’m excited to see the the community that we bring together to do a hard thing like this. Every year, I’m just absolutely shocked by the performance of some of our athletes. It seems superhuman,” he said.

The festival-style weekend also includes live music, yoga and breathwork sessions, cold plunges, saunas and a base camp providing food and drinks. On Sept. 26, athletes will have the chance to particiapte in an athlete Q&A with Tendi Sherpa, who has summited Mount Everest 18 times and is highly regarded in the mountaineering community.

As an Ironman competitor, Mosko said his own transformative experience with endurance racing inspired him to bring a bigger racing event to Winter Park.

“Signing up for something big and scary, training for it, and then crossing the finish line… it changes you. I wanted to create that opportunity for others,” he said.

The race focuses on both environmental and community impact. One percent of all ticket sales will go to the U.S. Forest Service Plant-A-Tree Program, and partnerships with nonprofits like Project Limitless connect the event to causes supporting athletes with disabilities.

Looking ahead, Mosko said the team is already planning new formats. A cycling version of Half Everest is in the works for 2026.

“The vision for the business is a bunch of different formats for elevation defined races like this,” he said.