A few days ago, French alpinist Benjamin Vedrines set a new Fastest Known Time (FKT) for a round-trip on skis up Mont Blanc. He went from the church in Chamonix to the summit and back to the church.
The record times on Mont Blanc are:
On foot
For women: Hillary Gerard, June 17, 2023, 7 hours 25 minutes 28 seconds
For men: Kilian Jornet, July 11, 2013, 4 hours 57 minutes 40 seconds
On skis
For women: Elise Poncet, May 16, 2025, 6 hours 54 minutes 47 seconds
For men: Benjamin Vedrines, May 24, 2025, 4 hours 54 minutes 41 seconds
Benjamin Vedrines on Mont Blanc. Photo: Bertrand Delapierre
Skiing vs on foot
In a recent social media post, Vedrines shared details of his achievement, emphasizing the differences between skiing and running.
Vedrines, who prefers skiing, described the trade-offs of his approach.
“I really wanted to do this route on skis because it’s more my field. There is something beautiful about skiing down from 4,810m, going all out. And it’s all muscle — no need for a paraglider,” he wrote.
He pointed out that skiing requires heavier gear and managing transitions between skis and trail shoes for the final 1,200m run, but allows a faster descent on snow.
Running, by contrast, is lighter and more efficient on the ascent, but slower and more technical on the way down. Vedrines says that ideal conditions for either method are rare, keeping the gap between ski and foot records tight over the years. For example, the old ski record set in 2003 jointly by Pierre Gignoux and Stephane Brosse was just five minutes slower than Pierre-Andre Gobet’s 1990 time on foot of 5 hours 10 minutes. And now Vedrines (skis) and Jornet (on foot) are within three minutes of each other.
Vedrines believes that a sub-four-hour and 30-minute round trip is possible in ideal conditions.
Benjamin Vedrines. Photo: Mathurin Vauthier
