A verdict has been announced in the drawn-out case against Michelino Sunseri. The 32-year-old professional endurance athlete has been embroiled in controversy since he cut a switchback in Grand Teton National Park during an FKT attempt on Sept. 2, 2024. The judge in his case, Stephanie A. Hambrick, published her decision a year to the day later on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
“Based on the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law, the Defendant is adjudged GUILTY … for leaving the Garnet Canyon Trail to use the shortcut of the Old Climber’s Trail,” Hambrick wrote in the conclusion of her verdict. “The court will set a sentencing hearing at a later date.”
The decision comes after the National Park Service (NPS) withdrew its support for the case in May, citing overcriminalization. Sunseri now faces a $5,000 fine and a ban from Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). The judge noted in her decision that she didn’t think that jail time was warranted in this case.
GearJunkie contacted Sunseri for this story, but he said he’s avoiding public comment at this time.
Michelino Sunseri: Guilty as Charged
GearJunkie has been reporting on the Sunseri story since it started, interviewing him just days after his FKT attempt. Sunseri ran up and down Grand Teton from the Lupine Meadows Parking Lot in 2 hours, 50 minutes, and 50 seconds. He beat the previous record set by Andy Anderson in 2012 by 3 minutes and 12 seconds.
“The first time I went up, I literally thought to myself, this is impossible, there is no way I will ever get this, this is crazy. Like, how the hell did Andy run this fast?” Sunseri recalled in that interview with GearJunkie.
However, on his descent, Sunseri cut a switchback, using a closed route known as the “Old Climber’s Trail” (OCT). In the process, he bypassed two signs. The first sign, at the top, read, “Shortcutting Switchbacks Causes Erosion.” The second at the bottom read “Closed for Restoration.”
Sixteen days later, fastestknowntime.com revoked his official FKT. Not long after that, GTNP rangers charged Sunseri with violating 36 CFR 21(b). That code states that a park superintendent “may restrict hiking or pedestrian use to a designated trail or walkway system.” Sunseri’s case went before Judge Hambrick on May 20, 2025.
Sunseri’s Defense
Sunseri’s defense hinged largely on the assertion that GTNP Superintendent Chip Jenkins and staff failed to properly close the OCT.
That was backed up by sources close to the case, who spoke to GearJunkie on background, and noted that numerous definitions of a “trail” were discussed in court. They said that while the OCT wasn’t a “designated” or “maintained trail,” it was still technically considered an “established trail” because of its 50-year history of use.
Sunseri’s defense team argued that officially closing it to public use would have involved more extensive trailwork and installing signage.
Judge Hambrick rejected that line of reasoning. She also rejected comparisons made by Sunseri’s legal team, likening the use of the Old Climber’s Trail to another popular trail in the area that accesses Delta Lake. That is not technically a designated trail, but it is frequently used by hikers without legal consequence.
“Use of the Delta Lake Trail is not restricted and has features distinguishing it from the OCT shortcut: the OCT is a shortcut between switchbacks of a designated trail, while the Delta Lake Trail is just a trail,” Jackson Hole News reported Hambrick wrote. “It has nothing to do with switchbacks on a designated trail. Therefore, the comparison is unhelpful.”
While the date for Sunseri’s sentencing has yet to be set, his legal team, which includes the Pacific Legal Foundation, plans to appeal the judge’s decision. It seems the saga of Michelino Sunseri’s fateful Grand Teton FKT is still far from over.
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