Industry News
On March 7, 2025, Rob Bernhoff of Woodinville, Washington, clicked into his skis, took a deep breath, and launched into a relentless pursuit of history. Over the next 12 hours, he would carve his way down the slopes with impressive endurance, claiming the unofficial world record for the most vertical feet skied in a single day.
From 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., he rode the Armstrong Express (chair 1) at Alpental and when he came to the bottom on his final run, he had rewritten the record books.
Final stats: 137,252 vertical feet, 109 lifts, all in 12 hours.
Bernhoft, 49, who owns his own landscape and design business came up with the idea for Max Vertical four years ago. “I played hooky from work and went skiing one day thinking I would go for a couple hours and it was such a good day that I basically decided to ski all day until they kicked me out,” Bernhoft said. “At the end of the day I had a lot of vertical and the next week I was riding up chair 1 and wondered how much vertical I could get on chair 1 because it’s a high-speed quad.”
It was then, that on the last day of night skiing each season, Bernhoft would ski for maximum vertical. Thankfully, the marketing team at Alpental got on board with his endeavor. This year the resort made a priority pass sign for him and committed to making it an official Guinness World Record.
Right now, the record is unofficial, but it will be sent to Guinness World Records for verification. A lot went into documenting the day. “What goes into it is two people with timers and logbooks, two witness statements, and 12 hours straight footage,” Bernhoft said. “This year I got an Insta 360 camera, and I had it on with a power bank plugged in the whole time.”
Bernhoft took no breaks, except for one bathroom break. He ate food on the chair lift and even had people throw him a sandwich as he was skiing. And while he considers Alpental his home mountain, he did a lot of preparation and training at nearby Stevens Pass. He would go midweek night skiing and there would be no lift lines and fast groomers. “I would sometimes be the only guy out there at 9 or 10 p.m. making hot laps,” Bernhoft laughed. “The lifties got used to me.”
“I think skiing is the best sport out there,” Bernhoft declared. “The better you get at it, the more fun you’ll have. The day didn’t get old, it was an awesome day. There was sun in the morning and the grooming was amazing. Then it softened up and wasn’t quite as fast, then around 4 o’clock the sun went down and it went from warm snow to now it’s freezing, chunky, and crusty.”
Bernhoft, who also works at the mountain one or two days a week, had to come in to work the next day. “I ended the day at 9 and I had to be back at work at the rental shop at 7. So, I went home, slept, and came back. One of my longtime ski buddies came in and said ‘Hey, let’s go take some runs.’ I definitely was sore but ended up going out and did three runs and was dying.”
Originally, Bernhoft thought that once he officially got the world record, he wouldn’t attempt this again but later reconsidered. “I think that I’m going to make it an annual thing. It’s super fun and a lot of people want to do it with me next year. I might try and make it a charity fundraiser for the kids.”
Looking back on the day, Bernhoft’s achievement wasn’t just about setting a record, it was about pushing his limits, embracing the sport he loves, and inspiring others along the way. What started as a personal challenge turned into something much bigger, drawing in support from the ski community and even sparking ideas for future events. Whatever the future holds, it is certain that for Bernhoft, skiing isn’t just a pastime; it’s a passion that keeps pushing him forward, one run at a time.
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Hmm, that 114,457 vert that ski tracks recorded for me in Kitzbuhl over 6.5 hours could have meant something other than tired legs dang it. 😛