Anywhere Worldwide!

This is an online competition tracked with your Smartphone, Fitbit, Jawbone Up, or Withings Pulse. You compete at your own pace and place for distance in a given time period. The event is a fundraiser for Mountain Climate Research conducted at the Center for Snow & Avalanche Studies.

How it Works

Choose a fitness tracking device. Our partner Matchup.io integrates with Fitbit, Jawbone, Withings & Moves app.

Go at your own pace and place! Everyone in your competition will have the same time. Choose a goal of 50 or 100 miles in 24 hrs, 48 hrs, 72 hrs, 7 days or 10 days.

Matchup powers the competition, beautifully displaying real-time progress for all participants.

Proceeds benefit the Center for Snow & Avalanche Studies Our goal is to raise $10,000 for their Mountain Climate Research programs ... and thus the name "Mountain Challenge Series."

Choose a Challenge

All events begin on Fridays. Choose June 13th, June 27th or July 4th, 2014

You may choose to compete for 24 hrs, 48 hrs, 72 hrs, 7 days or 10 days.

Set a goal distance of 50-100 miles or further! Everyone reaching 100 miles will receive a sweet custom metal belt buckle. Those going the furthest (1st - 3rd place) will receive Amazon gift cards up to $100.

FAQs

WHAT FITNESS TRACKERS ARE SUPPORTED?
Fitbit Flex, Force, Zip, Ultra, One, and iOS MobileTracker standalone App.
The Jawbone Up, and Up24
The Withings Pulse
The MovesApp (iOS and Android)

WHERE DOES EACH CHALLENGE START?
Wherever you are, anywhere in the world! You do need to have access to Internet at least once per day in order to sync your progress from your device.

WHAT TIME DOES EACH CHALLENGE START/STOP?
Mountain Challenges start and end based on each competitor's local time zone.
All Start times are 12:00 am
All finish times are 11:59:59 pm

HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO SYNC MY TRACKER?
Competitors have until 4 p.m. the following day to sync their fitness trackers. If you do not sync by this time Matchup.io will automatically score the competition using your last sync results. Some devices sync with internet-connected computers, while others can sync directly with smartphones.

CAN I GET DISTANCE ON A TREADMILL, BIKE, BY LIFTING WEIGHTS, OR BY DOING HOUSEWORK?
Yes! We'd love it if everyone were running outside, but that is not an option for all of us. Your fitness tracking device (Fitbit, Jawbone, Withings, Moves) has the final word on your distance for each day.

HOW LONG AM I ALLOWED TO REST?
As long as you want! Some competitors will run/walk for long hours, while others may maintain a regular sleep/work schedule. The point is to challenge yourself to get to 50 or 100 miles ... or even further!

CAN I COMPETE IN A TRADITIONAL "LIVE" RACE AT THE SAME TIME?
Yes! Competing simultaneously in a another race is encouraged!

WHAT ARE THE AWARDS?
100 Mile Awards
Each competitor who gets the equivalent of 100 miles during a given competition will have the option to receive a custom metal belt buckle. Competitors with addresses outside the United States may need to pay an additional shipping fee (just enough to cover the extra cost of shipping).

Winners Awards
The winning competitors (those with the most miles) will receive an Amazon.com gift card and a unique competition memento.
1st place: $100 2nd place: $50 3rd place: $25

HOW ARE WINNERS DETERMINED?
The competitor with most distance for a given competition is the winner. Each competitor's fitness tracking device (Fitbit, Jawbone, Withings, Moves) has the final word on total distance for each day.

I DON'T HAVE A FITNESS TRACKER YET. WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND?

If you have a Smartphone (iPhone or Android), just install the Moves app by ProtoGeo. It is the only device we support that also maps your activities.

If you don't want to carry your phone with you (or don't have a Smartphone), the Fitbit Zip is the least expensive and simplest device. It can be purchased on Amazon for under $50.

Withings Pulse is the most advanced of the trackers, with a built in heartrate monitor (fingertip pulse). Fitbit and Jawbone both have bracelet trackers if you prefer to wear something on your wrist. The Jawbone Up and Up24 are the most expensive and only devices without a display, although the Smartphone app is cool.

Our Story

Kimberly lives in the mountain town of Silverton, Colorado, and works as the data manager for the Center for Snow & Avalanche Studies (CSAS). She's long been a fan of fitness tracking devices (owns more kinds than she'd care to admit). So when CSAS needed to raise funds for vital research projects planned for summer 2014, she came up with the Mountain Challenge concept.

“I hope folks will find the Mountain Challenge Series to be fun and worthwhile. I know it will be motivating to watch the leaderboard during the challenge, lending this event a sense of camaraderie that “live” events have. But without the crowded trails!”

The Center for Snow & Avalanche Studies is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 2003 for research and education purposes. Its Senator Beck Basin Study Area serves the mountain science community and regional resource managers by hosting and conducting interdisciplinary research and sustaining integrative 24/7/365 monitoring that captures weather, snowpack, radiation, soils, plant community and hydrologic signals of regional climate trends. Senator Beck Basin is also the home of the Colorado Dust-on-Snow Program. For more, see the CSAS Fact Sheet.

What is Mountain System Monitoring?
Climate change researchers around the world have recognized mountains as a sensitive bellwether of global and regional change, where 'system responses' are more transparent and perhaps quicker to present than in lower elevation settings. Understanding the complex system interactions governing the seasonal distribution of mountain snowcover, its storage and release of water, and the effects of climate on those processes, are clearly of increasing importance to water providers.

Matchup.io and 3binary offered to assist Mountain Challenge early on in the planning process. Matchup.io allows people to engage in friendly competitive fitness challenges using the wearable fitness tracker of their choice. They were looking for way to push themselves to stay fit during cold Chicago months, and the platform they designed and developed alongside AnaKova solves this problem no matter whether you are using a Fitbit ,Jawbone , or Withings device.

Founded in 2012, 3binary is a small software development consulting agency based in Chicago, IL.

Event's current local time: 8:08 PM MT