What Kilian Jornet is currently showing on the 4000m is superhuman

For almost two weeks, Kilian Jornet has been racing through the Alps, climbing 4000m peaks at record speed. As part of his project with the rather sober title Alpine Connections, the world-famous ultra runner and mountaineer wants to climb as many peaks as possible using only his own strength.

Kilian Jornet has won pretty much everything there is to win as a ski mountaineer and mountain runner. His projects have dimensions that are often difficult to grasp. In 2023, he crossed the Pyrenees in eight days, climbed 177 peaks of the mountain range between Spain and France, covering 485 kilometers and over 43000 meters in altitude. With his latest project in the Alps, he is scaling his challenge to new dimensions.

Alpine Connections: Next Level Challenge

The idea behind Kilian Jornet's current project can be summed up briefly: to climb as many 4000m peaks as possible using only your own strength and to explore your physical, technical and mental limits.

Even if the project Alpine Connections There is never any talk of a record attempt, but the top runner is on the verge of smashing all records. On day 10 he has already climbed 51 four-thousand-meter peaks, conquered 50479 meters of altitude and covered 780 kilometers on foot or by bike. And all this with an average sleep duration of four hours and 22 minutes.

In order to get a feel for the dimensions in which Kilian Jornet is currently operating, it is worth comparing similar projects with the “on our own” approach:

  • In 2015, Ueli Steck and various partners climbed all 62 four-thousand-meter peaks in the Alps in 82 days.
  • Gabriel Jungo In 2023, he climbed all 44 four-thousand-meter peaks on Swiss soil within 48 days.
  • Peter von Känel and Chrigel Maurer In 2024, as part of their XPeaks project, they needed 51 days to climb all 82 four-thousand-meter peaks.
  • Andy Steindl also realized the Spaghetti Tour in 2024 with its 18 four-thousand-meter peaks in 7 hours and 45 minutes.

Border experience from East to West

Kilian Jornet started his adventure on August 15th in the Engadin with the Piz Bernina. The ascent of the easternmost four-thousand-meter peak, including a 200-kilometer bike ride into the Bernese Oberland, took him 15 hours and 38 minutes.

The second day started a little later than planned due to bad weather. Nevertheless, the Spanish ultra runner was able to conquer the highest peaks of the Bernese Alps, the Lauteraarhorn, Schreckhorn and Finsteraarhorn, within just 17 hours.

On the third day, six more Bernese four-thousand-meter peaks followed, and with them a distance of 99 kilometers and an elevation gain of 7890 meters, which Jornet mastered in a continuous push of 32 hours and 30 minutes. After a 15-minute nap, the 40-kilometer bike transfer to eastern Valais followed.

On day 4, the Lagginhorn and Weissmies were on the agenda. A moderate 8-hour effort for Jornet over 30 kilometers and 3381 meters in altitude. Day 5 was also "relatively" short, with 8 hours and 40 minutes of activity. During this time, Jornet climbed four more peaks: Dürrenhorn, Hohberghorn, Stecknadelhorn and Nadelhorn.

On day 6, the three peaks of the Mischabel group as well as the 4000m Alphubel, Allalinhorn, Rimpfischhorn and Strahlhorn were on the agenda. An intensive 48 kilometers, more than 6000 meters of altitude and a 21-hour push.

On day 7, Jornet added 18 more peaks to his collection with the infamous Spaghetti Tour. Jornet was not able to match Andy Steindl's recent record, but considering that he had already been on the road non-stop for seven days, his time of 17 hours and 45 minutes seems almost superhuman.

The next day, Kilian Jornet climbed Zermatt's landmark Matterhorn as well as Dent d'Hérens and Dent Blanche in just over 18 hours. As a kind of crowning achievement of his short stay in Switzerland, after two hours of sleep, he climbed Ober Gabelhorn, Zinalrothorn, Weisshorn and Bishorn. Jornet was once again on the road non-stop for 18 hours and 31 minutes.

After a 110-kilometer bike tour from Zinal to Bourg Saint-Pierre, he collected the last peaks of the western Valais Alps with Combin de Valsorey, Grand Combin and Combin de la Tsessette, and thus the four-thousand-meter peaks no. 49, 50 and 51.

Stress test of superlatives

Not only are thousands of sports enthusiasts around the world following Kilian Jornet's latest mega project. The data that the ultra runner and his team continuously collect on the road should also be of great interest to sports science.

Together with Dr. Jesús Álvarez, who has accompanied him on previous projects, Jornet wants to measure the effects of metabolic stress and share them with the scientific community. "The demands on Kilian will be so extreme that we cannot predict the physiological or even genetic changes that may occur," Álvarez told Craig Randall of GearJunkie.com.

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Credits: Cover picture Kilian Jornet

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