A Connecticut man died earlier this month while taking part in a grueling endurance challenge to simulate summiting Mount Everest by repeatedly climbing Snow King Mountain in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Slava Leykind, 43, of Westport, died on July 2 at an Idaho hospital after making six ascents of the Jackson Hole ski hill during the “29029 Everesting” event, according to the Jackson Hole News & Guide.
The endurance race requires participants to hike the vertical equivalent of Mount Everest—29,029 feet—within a 36-hour period. At Snow King, that entails hiking to the top 19 times and then descending via gondola after each summit.
Emergency personnel were dispatched to the mountain shortly before midnight on June 27, hours into the multi-day event. According to Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue, Leykind was taken to the hospital and died of cardiac arrest as a result of an electrolyte imbalance.
Leykind, a father of three and longtime investment banker, had been climbing the mountain when he became ill. The exact cause of his electrolyte imbalance was unknown, but such imbalances can occur after intense physical exertion, particularly if the body’s sodium levels drop too low—a condition known as hyponatremia.
Hyponatremia symptoms, such as nausea, headache, and confusion, are similar to dehydration but require very different treatment. Medical personnel trained to detect electrolyte imbalances are typically present at high-exertion events such as the Everesting Challenge, which has grown in popularity in recent years as a novel ultra-endurance experience.
Leykind immigrated from the former Soviet Union in 1988 and established a successful finance career at CG Sawaya Partners in New York. His family, however, believes that his greatest source of pride was his role as a husband and father. He is survived by his wife Amy and three children. He was 43.
