There are close to a hundred people who have climbed a verrtical mile on Mount Le Conte. Only a few have done it more than once. Constance Perry joined the club on April 2, hiking from Ripley's Aquarium to High Top in five hours and 23 minutes, then descending via Rainbow Falls in 4:30. That's 22.6 horizontal miles and just over 5,280 feet vertically. Holly Bryant holds the record with nine vertical miles. Others who have reported multiple vertical miles are Larry Russell a

The Tour de Le Conte is such a long and challenging trek that it's rarely attempted in winter. Three Knoxville men--John Sorah, his father Chris Sorah, and their friend Alan Thoms--cmpleted a full circuit of of Mount Le Conte's trails,, on March 14, 2026 The weather was mild but the trails atop the mountain were icy. Starting at 3:57 a.m., they hiked up Trillium Gap, down Bullhead, up Rainbow Falls, down Alum, up Boulevard, and down Brushy Mountain, finishing at 10 p..m. Th

RIri Morphine, Holly Bryant, and Rachel Mitchell Looking back on 2025, ladies led the parade of hikers on Mount Le Conte. Lodge manager John Northrup was the annual champion with 86 ascents, but four of the top seven were female: Riri Morphine with 70, Rachel Mitchell with 50, Holly Bryant 40, and Bonnie Northrup 37. Larry Russell, Le Conte's busiest hiker the past three years, set a record for 82-year-olds with 59 ascents in 2025. Dewey Slusher made three round-trips on New