50 YEARS OF GMVS -- A THROWBACK TO REACH THE PEAK

For 15 years (beginning in 1991), GMVS students celebrated the end of the school year and took on a 250+ mile relay race from the center of campus to the summit of Mt. Washington (New England’s highest peak) and back.

Beginning and ending on the campus lower field, Reach the Peak included a 110-mile run to the base of Mt. Washington, a 4.6 mile hike to the summit of Mt. Washington, a ski down Tuckerman’s Ravine, and a 140-mile bike back to campus. The final push was the senior sprint: a six-tenths of a mile run up Bragg Hill to the GMVS campus. It was a race against the clock to cross the finish line first.

Athletes who posted the fastest time on a relay segment were awarded an opportunity to give it a name that would live on until, and if, it was beaten. Some names lived on for years like “Sarah’s FlipFlop Funk,” “The Puke,” and “Two AM Torture.” Others embodied the grit and determination it would take to complete, like the trek up Mt. Washington, once known as the “Gnarliest of All Gnarlies”.

Every year and in every way, Reach the Peak encapsulated the GMVS spirit and ethos, inspiring students to dig deep and give 100% effort.