“Racer Tom” breaks his own record, downhill skis over 11 MILLION feet in just one year

Last year, a Utah retiree finally accomplished his dream of becoming a world record holder after downhill skiing 8,513,340 ft 10.72 in (2,594,866 m) in just nine months between November 2023 and April 2024.

But Thomas Hart (USA), otherwise known as “Racer Tom” by his community, loves the slopes, and knew there was a chance he could beat his prior distance. 

So with a new season approaching, Thomas didn’t back down from the challenge – he just skied down! 

This June, the 64-year-old ex-real estate agent absolutely shattered his previous record for greatest vertical distance skiing downhill in one year (male), after he skied 11,421,065 ft (3,481,140.6 m) in almost nine months – a distance similar to descending Mt Everest 393 times. 

He broke that un-brrrr-lieveable record from the 2023-2024 ski season by nearly three million feet, a feat that required him to spend 208 days on the mountain. 

“It just feels fantastic to be, not only the current world record holder, but also the previous,” he told the Standard-Examiner. “To be able to take the record that I set and really bring it up a full notch, it feels fantastic.”

Two-thirds of Thomas’s skiing occurred at Snowbasin Resort in Utah, a prior host of the Winter Olympics, while the others happened across six other resorts in the West – a busy schedule that packed his days with travelling and physical activity.

Hold up 10 fingers if you've skied over ten million feet!

But Thomas stays healthy by walking everywhere, mountain biking, and being an early riser – a practice which also helps him to get to the resorts early to avoid the crowds. 

“You have to spend time really getting to know your mountain, to know where to go during high-traffic times,” he told Outside. “Find the road less travelled. Whenever I get off a chairlift, I wait to see where the people go and I just go the other direction.”

Nevertheless, Racer Tom enjoys spending time with his friends on the slopes (even if they can’t keep up!) and he likes when people are inspired by his story to pursue their dreams.

“The past eight months have been a phenomenal experience, as I have fun every day while taking great pride to always ski in a cautious and courteous manner,” he told Guinness World Records.

Congratulations Tom, you are Officially Amazing!