Andrew Drummond to Hike the White Mountain Direttissima Live Online
Athlete to document trek on Facebook Live, website.
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“Super hiker” and backcountry skier Andrew Drummond is tackling one of the northeast’s hardest treks—and you can follow along with him.
On July 24, Drummond will attempt the White Mountain Direttissima, a self-supported hike/run that connects the state’s 48 peaks over 4,000 feet. Carrying seven days’ worth of food and sleeping for limited amounts of time, Drummond will cross nine mountain ranges and experience 100,000 feet of vertical elevation gain on his 250-mile traverse.
After hiking 100 miles in three days last summer with a friend, he heard about the Diresttissima and couldn’t shake the idea from his mind
“This sounded like the perfect way to really push yourself over the span of several days,” Drummond said in a video he posted on his website about his goals for the trip.
Ultimately, he just wants to complete the route, but he also hopes to involve the community and share the trail with them. That’s why he is documenting his journey via real-time videos on Snapchat and Facebook Live, as well as on Instagram. His GPS will also post his location on his website, Ski The Whites every 10 minutes and a map of his route, so anyone can check his location and meet him along the way.
“If I can share this experience with someone else it will help motivate me and at the same time I’ll be motivating them to come out and get outside,” he said.
Drummond will begin the hike at daylight on Sunday morning, July 24 at Kinsman Notch. While planning to complete it in seven days, he knows weather or his health might get in the way.
Only six people have completed the direttissima, Italian for “most direct route,” but with his pack stuffed with gels, nuts, waterproof layers, and a bivy bag, Drummond is ready to be the seventh.