The magnitude of the feat is off the scales: Kilian Jornet has summited all 82 of the 4,000m peaks in the Alps without any mechanical support — cycling from massif to massif — in 19 days.
“This was, without any doubt, the most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my life, mentally, physically, and technically, but also maybe the most beautiful,” Jornet wrote on social media.
Mont Blanc enchainment
Jornet’s day on Mont Blanc was simply mind-blowing: 16 new 4,000’ers, almost 41 kilometers with 5,000 vertical meters climbed, including some highly technical points of the Mont Blanc massif. He did it all in 29 hours and 25 minutes, with just a four-hour break waiting for conditions to improve. Here is Jornet’s report:
We started the day at 4:45 am with Matheo Jacquemoud and Noa Barrau on the Diable ridge, one of the most beautiful rock climbs I’ve ever done, both very technical and aesthetic. This took us through Corne du Diable, Pointe Chaubert, Pointe Médiane, Pointe Carmen, and L’Isolée.
We pushed on towards Mont Blanc with the summits of Mont Blanc du Tacul, Mont Maudit, Mont Blanc, Dôme du Goûter and Aiguille de Bionassay, where Matheo and Noa left.
I continued on solo, went back on the summit of Mont Blanc a second time on my way back, then down on the Brouillard ridge (Monte Bianco de Courmayeur, Picco Luigi Amadeo, Mont Brouillard and Punta Baretti) with an amazing sunset in the background, a moment that I will remember forever.
This took me around 20 hours in total. I stopped at the bivouac Eccles for around four hours, waiting for better conditions, before climbing some technical sections at Grand Pilier d’Angle and Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey.
Kilian during a night climb. Photo: @nickmdanielson
The last push
After the Mont Blanc massif, Jornet only had to cycle to Aosta Valley to climb the Grand Paradiso, the least technical section of the trip. Then, Jornet ran 21 km back into France, rested in Val d’Isère, and continued to the Ecrins area for the last peak of the collection: the Barre des Ecrins and its shoulder, the Dome de Neige.
Kilian never openly admitted he was trying to break a record, but his 19-day epic has smashed the previous FKT on climbing all the peaks of over 4,000m in the Alps, set by Ueli Steck of Switzerland. Steck completed the challenge in 62 days back in 2015.
“It’s time to rest for a bit now,” said Jornet. Until the next challenge. For the record, here are the stats of the monster challenge:
Kilian Jornet’s score on his Alpine Connections challenge.
