King of vert: Retired teacher logs 10 million feet in resort's vertical challenge
Michael Donnay reached his goal of skiing 10 million vertical feet at Whitefish Mountain Resort on April 2. He will continue to ski, bell to bell, through the end of the season, April 6. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
Friends gathered near Chair 4 to congratulate Michael Donnay on accomplishing his 10-million-foot vertical goal and give props to his wife, Kerith, who ranked 34th on the vert tracker. (Howie Nordstrom photo)
The beauty of having a season pass is skiing as much as you want. If conditions are good, an epic day on the slopes for an average skier might include a dozen runs, or about 27,000 vertical feet.
Michael Donnay is not an average skier.
Whitefish Mountain Resort has been tracking vertical feet by scanning season passes at chairlifts since 2003 and finding a vertical champion each year. This season, previous champ Donnay, a retired middle school teacher, shattered the all-time record by skiing more than 10 million vertical feet. That’s nearly 2,000 miles.
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