This summer we challenged our community to climb, by foot, 32 of the biggest, grandest, and toughest hills around. Of the many noteworthy hills in the area, we picked our favorite - or perhaps most feared - climbs for the challenge. Each hill selected was located within a six mile radius of Craftsbury Town Hall and effectively included the towns of Craftsbury, Albany, Hardwick, Greensboro, Wolcott, and Glover. The hills were broken up into sets of four, with each set scheduled for a specific week. On top of all the climbing, the challenge encouraged participants to tackle bonus efforts, such as completing a weekly hill workout or traveling to each hill entirely self-powered - no driving to or from or in between the hills!

Sounds like a potentially crazy undertaking, right? Well, without batting an eye, a gaggle of community members took the hills to get the job done. Thus began the summer of 2020’s Great Hill Quest. 

Eight weeks and many hills later, the Great Hill Quest has come to an end. Of our 30+ valiant participants, 16 people successfully climbed all 32 hills this summer, and 13 people participated fully self-supported, with no car support - such impressive feats by all! The total elevation gain of the Quest clocked in at 12,317 feet. That’s....

• More than it takes to climb Mt Everest from base camp (3,489 meters / 11,447 feet).

• Nearly equivalent to 3 times up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail to summit Mt Washington (4,169 feet each time up).

• Just under 5 times up the Hellbrook Trail to Mount Mansfield Chin (2,683 feet in each go). 

• About 23 times up West Hill Road (545 feet each climb). 

• A whole lot of gritty determination & climbing!

As they recover and bask in the glory of a challenge completed, some of the GHQuesters wrote in to share about their Quest excursions. Continue reading below for some tales, tidbits, and photos from a summer of hill questing!

“All the birds I saw or heard while out on the quest! Extra points?? My bird list from Week 1 - barred owl, pileated woodpecker, great crested flycatcher, bluejay, raven, crow, chickadee, winter wren, robin, hermit thrush, solitary verio, red eyed verio, black and white warbler, parula warbler, yellow warbler, black throated blue warbler, oven bird, yellow throated warbler, chestnut sided warbler, Connecticut warbler, house sparrow, red wing blackbird, chipping sparrow, white throated sparrow, and song sparrow.” - John Broadhead

“I have to say that the final ascent on Morey Hill/Hines Road was my best moment of the challenge for multiple reasons: 1) I had the satisfaction of knowing I had completed every hill which I never thought I would accomplish at the outset back in early July, 2) I knew I was going to be greeted by my two favorite dogs, Gunnar and Luna, and 3) the sun was shining and the views were great as Judy and I enjoyed a post-climb cappuccino on the deck, courtesy of Rowdy Cow Ranch!” - Carlie Geer

“I think my favorite part of the Hill Quest was enjoying the company of one of my sons or my husband for some of them.  I walked four hills with my son David this summer before dropping him off at college.  I was working all summer, so didn't feel like I could spend much time with him, but twice he agreed to 90-minute walks to get up some hills with me, and I was introduced to the many different topics he mulls around in his head. (I can now tell you all about the coastline problem.)  Matt joined me on his bike for some hills in the first week, and Alan helped push my bike, while riding his, up Ketchum Hill so I could run up.  Besides that, I really enjoyed seeing parts of my new community at running or walking speed.  I passed a bicycle up in a tree once, and I wondered whether it was a Hill Quester or just a good place to put a bike!” - Paula Davidson 

“We learned a number of things during the Quest: 1) We learned to pace ourselves if we were to finish all 4 hills in one trip via bike support. This meant it took several hours to complete - an over distance workout we could not have gotten otherwise. 2) The bird count numbers lessened in the course of the summer, an ecological factoid we learned via our weekly outings. 3) Even after living here for nearly forty years there were two hills I had never ventured up before - Edsall Hill and Guy Lot.  So fun to find new and beautiful places. 4) The muffleta has become our favorite Genny sandwich option.  We ate several of these along with the Genny’s blueberry scones as post workout treats. “ - Gina Campoli & John Broadhead