Congratulations to lodge manager John Northrup for breaking one of Ed Wright's hiking records.
John climbed Mount Le Conte 30 times in October--the most anyone has reported in a single month. Wright had 28 in a month three times in 1991, when he set the annual record of 230 ascents. He climbed 8 times in January, 11 in February, 12 in March, 10 in April, 28 in May, 27 in June, 16 in July, 26 in August, 28 in September, 28 in October, 23 in November, and 13 in December.
Wright often climbed twice a day. Northrup has been on a similar pace, including three round trips on Oct. 20. Northrup has been delivering souvenir T-shirts to LeConte Lodge. Demand for the "I hiked it" T-shirts has exploded during the centennial season, and he's been busy making sure the lodge store is well-stocked.
John also rewrote the record books for ascents in a week. From Oct. 17 to 25, he made multiple trips day after day, giving him 12 consecutive days climbing Mount Le Conte and 15 ascents in a calendar week.
The record for consecutive days climbing Le Conte is 15, by Tillroe Smith in 2002. Tillroe previously held the one-week record with 13.
John ranks 14th on the LeContest Honor Roll with 541 climbs, including 89 in 2024. At this pace, he could make 100 climbs in the lodge's 100th season.
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