Kilian Jornet has just unveiled his new project: “I’ll be aiming to connect all the 14,000-foot peaks across the United States by foot and bike.”
The trail-running GOAT added: “This will be a unique physical challenge for me, but combining exploration, endurance, and wild spaces is where I feel at home.”
In a certain way, this is the American version of Jornet’s mind-blowing Alpine Connections project last year, when he linked all the peaks higher than 4,000m in the Alps without motorized support — and barely any sleep or rest. Jornet covered 1,162.9km and 72,233m of elevation gain in 19 days. Of that, 78% was on foot and the rest was cycling. Now he is coming to the American West to do something even bigger.
Community suggestion
In fact, this project was not really Jornet’s idea but a proposal from the climbing community. Jornet recently shared a social media post expressing his admiration for the wild spaces of the United States that he had discovered through the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run, where he finished in third place.
He asked the community which iconic American routes should be on his radar, and encouraged readers to share their suggestions on his Instagram.
“The best projects start with community wisdom,” Jornet concluded. Thousands replied.
Choose everything
Jornet also asked some American friends for their input. One of them featured in the video was Meghan Hicks, editor-in-chief of our sister site iRunFar. She suggested Nolan’s 14 (traversing the Sawatch Range in Colorado, including fourteen 14,000ers; the challenge is to finish in under 60 hours). Others suggested the Eastern Sierra, or linking mountains by bike.
“It was impossible to choose,” Jornet said, “so, why choose?” Instead, he’ll go for everything.
Kilian Jornet during one of the cycling stages that linked different mountains within the Alpine Arc. Photo: @nickmdanielson
States of Elevation
Jornet will start the project, which he has called States of Elevation, at the beginning of September with 14,256-foot (4,345m) Longs Peak in Colorado. “Then I’ll find the coolest way to link the 14,000’ers in the lower 48.”
The northeast face of Mount Rainier. Photo: Wikipedia
Jornet will link 67 mountains located in Colorado, California, and Washington State. Admittedly, he’ll ignore Alaska’s giants, but the challenge will include glacial ascents of the great volcanoes of the Cascades — Mount Rainer (4,392m) and Mount Shasta (4,322m) — as well as other mountains that are mostly dry in summer, such as Mount Whitney at 14,505 feet (4,421m) in California’s Sierra Nevada and Mount Elbert, the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains at 14,433 feet (4,401m).
The spectacular Mt. Whitney. Photo: Wikipedia
Here is a complete list of the Lower 48’s 14,000’ers. By the way, 14,000 feet is 4,267m.
