The death of a 43-year-old man who spent days repeatedly climbing up and down Snow King Mountain in a test of endurance and athleticism is drawing renewed attention, and scrutiny, on an increasingly popular climbing trend called “Everesting.”
Slava Leykind died July 2 at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho, while attempting his Everesting challenge, which is trying to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest in 36 hours.
Everesting is an endurance challenge where people repeatedly summit the same mountain to achieve the same vertical distance needed to summit Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain at 29,029 feet. Leykind’s obituary says he died “from complications sustained while participating in a mountain endurance event earlier that week.”
The Jackson Hole event requires people to climb Snow King Mountain’s steep 1,500 feet of elevation 19 times.
Everesting isn’t nearly as daunting or expensive as an actual summit of Mount Everest, but that doesn’t mean it’s free of risk. Experienced mountaineers see Everesting as an ambitiously athletic event that requires training and self-awareness to ensure one’s safety.
“It’s no surprise that you’re going to see a few people who get sick or die from this, because it is pushing your body to the limit,” said