IronHike Kuwohi - 12hr Vertical Event | 7,140ft Gain

Kuwohi

12 Hours. The Mountain. One Really Hard Day.

12 hours. Up to 7,140 feet. One really hard day.

The entry point into the IronHike Series. Named for Kuwohi, the Cherokee name for the highest summit on the Appalachian Trail. Do this all in one really hard day. Trek all day with your new Tribe. You may have to trek past sunset. That's the point.
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Kuwohi · 12 Hours · Up to 7,140' Elevation Gain & Loss · Power-Hike · Trail Run · Endurance Event

reg50$50 off any Solo or Trail Family registration

brave70$70 off: Veterans, active military, and first responders

buddy5050% off Trail Buddy registration

🏔️ About the Kuwohi

Named for Kuwohi, the Cherokee word for "mulberry place" and the restored name for the highest summit on the Appalachian Trail. In 2024, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names officially changed the name from Clingmans Dome to Kuwohi at the formal request of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. In Cherokee syllabary: ᎫᏬᎯ. The National Park Service strongly supported the restoration.

At IronHike, Kuwohi is the equivalent of that summit, up to 7,140 feet of self-powered vertical gain and loss in a single 12-hour window. Perfect if you only have the time for one day. Trek all day. Earn every foot. Find your Tribe.

Solo Mountain Athlete, Trail Buddy, or Trail Family. The mountain keeps no score. You finish what you finish. That's enough.

🧭 Event Navigator

Kuwohi

12 hrs

Double Kuwohi

24 hrs

Answer the Bell Basic

24 hrs

Denali

48 hrs

Everest

72 hrs

Answer the Bell Full

84 hrs

Olympus Mons

84 hrs

🏔️ IronHike Venues

Same Signature Elevation. Different Mountain.

Mohawk Mountain

📍 Cornwall, Connecticut

Duration 12 Hours

Laps 12

Distance 15 Miles

Vertical Gain 7,140'

Lap 1.25 mi · 595' gain

Course Ski slope · Forest trail

Badass Feature

The course runs on the historic Old Appalachian Trail route, the same ground where thru-hikers once walked their way north. Every lap is a piece of trail history.
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Amicalola Falls

📍 Dawsonville, Georgia

Duration 12 Hours

Laps 11

Distance 16.5 Miles

Vertical Gain 6,644'

Lap 1.5 mi · 1,208 stairs per lap · 604' gain

Total Stairs 13,288 (round trip)

Course 67% stairs · 33% paved single track

Badass Feature

The course begins at the famous Reflecting Pool and climbs the AT Approach Trail, the official gateway to the 2,197-mile Appalachian Trail. Every lap starts where thru-hikers begin their journey north.
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🗓️ Event Schedule

📋

Check In & Safety Briefing
Saturday morning

🚀

Start - IronHikers Away
Saturday at noon

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Finish - Last Bell
Saturday at midnight

✅ What's Included

⛺Tenting space on-Mountain, included for you and up to 6 spectators at no extra charge

🔥Base Support Station with shade, fire pit, hydration, snacks, and Tribe camaraderie

🏔️Summit Support Station, water and support at the top of every lap

🏅Personalized Event bib and Summit Tokens for lap tracking

🥇Finisher's medal and finisher's hat

💧Skratch Labs® hydration, electrolytes, energy chews, and endurance snacks on course

📋Custom training plans via Chaski Endurance Collective

📞Monthly Tribe Calls with the Cadre and fellow Mountain Athletes

🚑On-Mountain medical support throughout the Event

👣The Cadre treks every Event alongside you. You are never alone on that Mountain.

🅿️Free parking for Mountain Athletes and spectators

🤜A new Tribe. Bragging rights. Proof.

💬 "I had never done anything like this in my life. I'm not an athlete. I just showed up, put one foot in front of the other, and finished. That was the day everything changed."

— Sarah · IronHike Kuwohi Finisher

👥 How You Can Do This

Three participation formats. Every format earns the same summit. Every format earns the same proof.

👤

Solo

Go it alone, surrounded by a Tribe. Your pace. Your summit. Your proof.

👥

Trail Buddy

Bring someone. 50% off with code buddy50. Twice the suffering. All the proof.

👥👥

Trail Family

FlexRelay team of four. Self-managed pacing. No minimum laps per person. Discount built in.

No buddy yet? Register for any Buddy Event now. Your buddy completes their info on RunSignUp later at no extra cost.

💬 "I'm 58. I finished ahead of people who could be my kids. The Mountain doesn't check your age. It just checks whether you showed up."

— Bill · IronHike Kuwohi Finisher

🪜 Kuwohi at Amicalola Falls vs The World's Most Famous Staircases

At Amicalola Falls, a complete Kuwohi is 11 laps, up and down the staircase each time, for a total of 13,288 stairs. Here is what that looks like compared to some of the world's most famous staircase experiences, each measured the same way: one complete climb and descent.

4.2x

Empire State Building, New York

3,152 stairs for one complete climb and descent. Doing a Kuwohi is equivalent to 4.2x complete climbs and descents of Empire State Building.

4.0x

Eiffel Tower, Paris

3,330 stairs for one complete climb and descent. Doing a Kuwohi is equivalent to 4.0x complete climbs and descents of Eiffel Tower.

3.7x

CN Tower, Toronto

3,552 stairs for one complete climb and descent. Doing a Kuwohi is equivalent to 3.7x complete climbs and descents of CN Tower.

3.2x

Willis Tower, Chicago

4,218 stairs for one complete climb and descent. Tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Doing a Kuwohi is equivalent to 3.2x complete climbs and descents of Willis Tower.

2.4x

Manitou Incline, Colorado

5,536 stairs for one complete climb and descent. America's most extreme staircase. 68% max grade. Doing a Kuwohi is equivalent to 2.4x complete climbs and descents of Manitou Incline.

💬 "I want to be clear: I did not run a single step. I power-hiked every lap. Nobody cared. Nobody judged. I still rang that bell at midnight."

— Denise · IronHike Kuwohi Finisher

Your gut is telling you something right now. Listen to it.
Availability and Registration 🎯

💬 "I hike on weekends. That's it. I signed up thinking I was in over my head. Turns out a day hiker with twelve hours of grit is exactly who this Event was built for."

— Tom · IronHike Kuwohi Finisher

💬 "I used Kuwohi as my foundation. Finished it in the spring, signed up for Everest before I got to my car. If you are thinking about going longer, start here. It will tell you everything you need to know about yourself."

— Marcus · IronHike Kuwohi & Everest Finisher

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IronHike Kuwohi

What It Is The IronHike Kuwohi is a 12-hour vertical endurance Event available at multiple venues across the USA. Named for Kuwohi, the Cherokee name for Clingmans Dome, the highest summit on the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains at 6,643 feet. Summit, descend, repeat under your own power for 12 hours. The entry point into the IronHike Endurance Event Series. Not a race endurance event. Power-hike, trail run, or endurance challenge format. Veteran-owned and operated.

The Venues Mohawk Mountain Ski Area, Cornwall Connecticut. 12 laps, 15 miles, 7,140 feet. 1.25 miles per lap, 595 feet per ascent. Amicalola Falls State Park, Dawsonville Georgia. 11 laps, 16.5 miles, 6,644 feet. 1.5 miles per lap, 604 stairs and 604 feet per ascent. AT Approach Trail at Amicalola Falls, gateway to the 2,197-mile Appalachian Trail. Mountain endurance hiking event Connecticut. Staircase endurance event Georgia. Elevation endurance event Georgia. Amicalola Falls endurance event. AT Approach Trail endurance event.

The Significance Kuwohi is the Cherokee word for mulberry place. In Cherokee syllabary the name is written as three characters. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names voted in 2024 to restore the name Kuwohi at the request of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The National Park Service supported the restoration. IronHike honors that name in every Event. Highest summit on the Appalachian Trail, North Carolina and Tennessee. AT thru-hiking entry point. Appalachian Trail endurance event.

Participation and Format Solo, Trail Buddy, and Trail Family FlexRelay team participation. No podium, no age groups, not a race endurance event. You vs you mountain event. Discount codes reg50, brave70, buddy50. Veterans, active military, and first responders welcome. Mountain Athlete Tribe spanning 29 states and 3 countries and counting. Prove yourself right about you. Shared suffering endurance Event. Vertical endurance built by US Army veterans. IronHike Endurance Productions LLC, veteran-owned endurance event series USA.
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