19 days ago, Kilian Jornet He embarked on what was probably the most ambitious and complicated project of his professional career. And that’s saying a lot for an athlete who, in addition to having been a world star in ski mountaineering, is the greatest legend in the history of ultra trail running.
Less than a year ago, in October, Kilian completed what was until then his most difficult mountain challenge. In just 8 days, he managed to climb 177 peaks over 3,000 meters in the Pyreneesa mountain range you already know like the back of your hand.
But this spectacular adventure made him want to continue growing and, above all, to continue exploring the limits of the human body and mind. If a person like Kilian can be considered human. For many, because of his physical abilities and talent, he is practically a deity.
From these inspiring powders of the Pyrenees, these muds with the taste of success of the Alps. Kilian Jornet and his excessive ambition were confronted with another major challenge: climb 82 peaks over 4,000 meters in the shortest possible timeTo do this, he needed a flawless plan, designed to the millimeter, because it was essential to carry out the routes and climbs in the most efficient way possible to save time on every centimeter of the mountain.
However, any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental when facing raging mountains, storms and the deep crevasses of the Alps. Therefore, the fact that Kilian Jornet managed to reach this already historic figure of 82 “Fourmilers” in just 19 days and 16 stages is simply stratospheric.
Kilian Jornet with a member of his team during the last stage of his Alpes Connections challenge.
Lymbus
To get an idea of the magnitude of what Kilian Jornet has achieved in the last two weeks, the previous record set in the Alps dates back to 2008. the guides Franco Nicolini and Diego Giovannini. They completed the alpine crossing in 60 days. That is two full months, while the one in Sabadell took much less than three weeks. An absolute heroism that is only accessible to an elected official.
All this time, SPANISH followed Kilian’s journey, a journey that is now coming to an end and that was possible thanks to the support, help and advice of many friends and alpine experts, as well as the collaboration of the entire Lymbus and NNormal team, who have always been there to encourage Kilian Jornet who has overcome physical fatigue and mental exhaustion to reach his brutal goal.
Kilian Jornet makes history with Alpes Connections
After completing the sixteenth stage of his journey, crowning the massif of CasesKilian Jornet has perfectly completed a loop that was opened more than two weeks ago. After hundreds of hours of effort and thousands of meters of climbing, the Spaniard has already managed to reach the summit of the 82 “Four Thousand” of the Alps, a challenge that was proposed to him for several purposes.
The first, explore the limits of your body and mind. Although speed was not one of Kilian’s motivations, his expertise and talent for devouring mountains allowed the man from Sabadell to complete this challenge in record time. However, the big challenge for him was maintain concentration for almost 20 days with stages lasting even almost 30 hours. A physical and mental wear and tear that led to exhaustion.
A beating that tested him in every way and made him experience, as it could not be otherwise, moments of limit. From the problems of food and water supply while he was isolated in the mountains due to the weather conditions, to having to deal with muscle wasting and injuries on the skin, hands and feet as a result of the duel with the mountain.
Furthermore, in this incredible challenge, Kilian maintained a mystical connection with the mountain, since to move from one point to another used only human traction means. So, this project was not only a colossal challenge because of the exposure, technical difficulty and concentration it required, but it also meant a combination of trail running, mountaineering, climbing and cycling unprecedented. A perfect harmony with nature.
Kilian Jornet completes a cycling section of his Alpes Connections challenge.
Lymbus
Kilian Jornet has brought together in this project everything that fascinates him: the majesty of the mountain, facing the unknown, the spotlight on mountaineering and its mentors, physiological research and the search for physical and mental limits, all shared between friends and with the alpine community.
A project that has far exceeded 1,000 kilometres of route, 250 hours of activity and 70,000 metres of elevation gain accumulated to end up reaching that mythical figure of 82 ascents above 4,000 metres of altitude. And all this in the same place and at the same time as the celebration of one of the ultra trail events that have marked his sporting career, the UTMB of the Mont Blanc.
Kilian Jornet takes stock of his Alpes Connections challenge.
The NNormal athlete finished his project extremely satisfied, although he admits that it will take time to understand the magnitude of what he has achieved: “This project has been incredible. I think it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, physically, technically and mentally..
“Having to stay in a state of total concentration for 20 days takes a lot of energy, but it was incredible. I remember all the sunrises and sunsets and all the friends who accompanied me in the mountains. I am very happy and proud of what we have achieved in the last three weeks. Now it’s time to rest and process everything that happened, because I think it will take me some time to fully appreciate it.“.
