Vt. man aims to summit Pico 365 times in a year to help kids

KILLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - You may have hiked Pico in the summer or skinned up it to ski down in the winter. But have you ever thought about doing that 365 times in one year? Randy Crossman of Rutland is doing just that.

“Which is pretty crazy and I still don’t know if I can do it,” he said.

Last winter, Randy made it to the top of Pico five days in a row. He challenged himself to 30 days, 50, then 365.

To build incentive to stick to his goal, Randy worked with his daughter Morgan Crossman, the executive director of Building Bright Futures which works to improve the well-being of kids and families in Vermont.

“It started as an awareness campaign and now I have people that are pledging per day, some people $10 a day,” Randy said.

“That’s inspiring him to be out there, hiking that mountain when it’s negative 15 and 30 mph winds at the peak,” Morgan said.

Randy, 62, has great respect for Pico, growing up at the mountain and being part of backcountry rescues in the past.

“I know what this mountain can do and it can be very unfriendly, so safety is my number one concern,” he said.

Most of his hikes are at night after hours. But the mountain has one feature that allows his 4-year-old granddaughter, Amelie, to make sure he gets to the top.

“Pico has cameras at the top and bottom, so I’m always waving to Amelie every time I summit,” Randy said.

“It’s really just an amazing way for us to, again, monitor safety but also feel included in this hike,” Morgan said.

Before Christmas, Randy tested positive for COVID but he had done four doubles in the fall, so he was able to make up for the missed days.

“I realized there’s no way I can, with a full-time job and part-time business, manage every single day,” he said. “But if I can hike and double up some days, that’s what I do.”

He doesn’t take “bad weather” days off. He says hiking in the cold is actually easier.

Reporter Olivia Lyons: If you hit 365, will you go for 400?

Randy Crossman: No. [laughs]

Randy Crossman posts updates to PicoSummit365 Facebook page where you can follow along.

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