“It is without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done.” Spanish mountaineer and trailer Kilian Jornet completed the 1is September, his “Alpine Connection” project, which consisted of climbing the 82 peaks over 4,000 meters in the Alps without using any means of transport other than walking and cycling, which he accomplished in nineteen days.
At the same time, he smashed the record for the duration to reach all the “4,000” peaks in the Alps, held since 2008 by the Italian guides Diego Giovannini and Franco Nicolini, who took… sixty-two days.
His quest, which began on August 13 in Switzerland with the ascent of Piz Bernina, the easternmost “4,000” in the Alpine arc, ended with the ascent of the Dome and the Barre des Ecrins in France. This gargantuan journey of 1,207 kilometers for more than 75,000 meters of positive elevation gain, accomplished with different companions, but also solo, required more than 268 hours of effort, which left him with an average of 5 hours 17 minutes of rest per day.
“It’s hard to analyze all my emotions now, but it’s a trip I’ll never forget.”he wrote on Instagram. The Catalan, a tutelary figure of the trail who had won for the 10e times Sierre-Zinal, the oldest mountain race, on August 10, completed his project while in Chamonix, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) was ending, which he has won four times. A fervent environmental activist, he had implicitly called last year for a boycott of the flagship event on the world calendar, in particular because of the partnership concluded with the car manufacturer Dacia.
“The places where we practice our activities are changing drastically due to climate change and pollution. (…). The role of elite athletes, federations and major event organisers goes beyond our own activities and the future consequences are also our responsibility”he wrote then.
After winning most of the iconic trail events between 2008 and 2012, Kilian Jornet embarked on the “Summits of my Life” project, which notably led him to break the speed records for the ascent of Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn the following year. Without ceasing to practice mountain running itself, he has since multiplied the ascents and fast crossings on sometimes very technical routes, such as the Peuterey ridge, on the Italian side of Mont Blanc, or the north face of the Grandes Jorasses. In October, eight days were enough for him to cross his native Pyrenees, passing the 177 peaks over 3,000 meters.
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