Ultra-endurance athletes, alpinists, and adventurers seem to have really come into their own during the COVID-19 pandemic. It feels like a new Fastest Known Time is set on some popular route every week. This week is no exception.
For the second time in just over a year, the FKT on the popular Monte Rosa Traverse in the Swiss Alps has fallen.
The new record, set by Frenchman Benjamin Vedrines, stands at 9 hours and 18 minutes, more than four hours faster than the previous record of 13 hours and 39 minutes, set by Nico Hojac and Adrian Zurbrügg in July 2020.
Hojac and Zurbrügg’s effort on the Spaghetti Tour in turn bested Andreas Steindl and Ueli Steck’s time of 14 hours and 35 minutes, set in 2015.
Védrines completed the feat alone, starting early on the morning on Aug. 14.
The Spaghetti Tour usually takes days to traverse. It involves climbing 18 snow-covered peaks above 4,000m.
