92-Year-Old Breaks Records Hiking the Grand Canyon

The rim-to-rim hike at Grand Canyon National Park is long, difficult, and deadly, which is why less than 1% of park visitors attempt it. But a 92-year-old man recently set the record as the oldest person to complete the bucket list challenge.

No Walk in the Park

Grand Canyon is one of America’s most-visited national parks with nearly 5 million visitors each year. It’s also one of America’s most dangerous parks. Of those 5 million visitors, approximately 12 die in the canyon each year due to the extreme temperatures and tricky terrain. Less than 1% of visitors complete the canyon’s most daunting challenge: the rim-to-rim hike. At 24 miles point-to-point, with 6,000 feet of descending and 4,500 feet of climbing, the National Park Service labels the rim-to-rim hike as strenuous and warns ambitious hikers to come prepared.

A Touching Backstory

In 2006, after 39 years of marriage, Alfredo Aliaga lost his wife and adventure partner, Ingrid, to Lou Gehrig’s disease. The couple had spent the better part of their retirement traveling and exploring together including a 2,000-mile bike ride from Finland to Germany. When Ingrid passed, Aliaga returned to some of their favorite places, with Grand Canyon at the top of the list. On his first visit back to the park, Aliaga took his daughter and grandson. He left a paper crane in his late wife’s memory. There were several more visits to Grand Canyon over the following years.

Preparing for the Challenge

Alfredo, who spends his time between Spain and Germany, walked three hours every day in Berlin to prepare for the hike. At 92, Aliaga contributes his health to three factors: eating healthy food and drinking lots of water, walking for at least 30 minutes a day, and getting a full eight hours of sleep each night. Alfredo told USA Today, “We are willed by Mother Nature to move, and if you are eight hours sitting in a chair, you cannot be healthy. We must move.” Move he did!

A Record-Breaking Hike

On Oct. 14, 2023, Aliaga became the oldest person on the planet to complete the iconic rim-to-rim hike. At 92 years old, Aliaga began the two-day journey at the North Rim with his son-in-law and two witnesses. The group hiked for 21 grueling hours before reaching the top of the canyon and a crowd of more than 50 cheering onlookers at the South Rim.

It’s Official!

Aliaga had completed the rim-to-rim hike before, even as recently as 2022, but this time he was just old enough to break the record. The previous record holder, John Jepkema, was 91 when he hiked the trail in 2019. When Guinness broke the news a couple of months after the hike, Aliaga saw the story but didn’t realize it was official. That was until his daughter and granddaughter called him on Facetime to let him know.

What’s Next?

Aliaga has no plans to slow down either. He told Guinness that he would like to break even more records by becoming the oldest person to hike the Aconcagua, the Chimborazo, or the Cotopaxi – some of South America’s highest peaks.

References: It’s official: Guinness confirms 92-year-old man’s world record Grand Canyon hike | Grand Canyon Rim-To-Rim Hike | Grand Canyon Facts from the Visitor’s Center | ‘We did it!’: 92-year-old breaks record to become oldest person to hike Grand Canyon rim to rim