Mountain Running
He holds the fastest known up-and-down times on the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Denali, climbed Everest twice in five days, and just shattered the Bob Graham Round record. Meet Kílian Jornet.
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At the age of just 30, Kílian Jornet has an astonishing list of speed-smashing mountain achievements to his name. His recent demolition of the Bob Graham Round speed record – which was set five years before he was even born – is arguably one of mountain running’s greatest ever achievements.
Add to that record-breaking speed ascents/descents on some of the world’s most famous mountains, including the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Denali, and two speed attempts on Everest without oxygen in five days last year, and it’s clear that there's something special about this man.
It all started when he was three, with his climbing parents taking him out of his mountain hut home and into the mountains. But what’s left to achieve, and where will it end? We spoke to him ahead of his due participation in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, which starts on August 27.
What do you remember most about your childhood?
For me, going out in the mountains was normal – it was our daily routine. My mum would take us out barefoot in the night, so we started to get used to the night, to its sounds. We were mostly on the Pyrenees – the Cap del Rec mountain hut, where I used to live, Tossa Plana, a local mountain, and Cadí range, where I started running.
And when and how did the love of mountains turn into a love of speed running?
Speed running is just an excuse to do what I like – to explore new places and meet new people. And by running fast I get to discover more places.
Where do you live now and what do you love about it?
We live in Norway, at the door of the Norwegian Alps. I love it because the mountains are so wild and unexplored, and I like to be able to discover more and more places every day. Every place I've lived has helped me grow in different ways.
You train 1,200 hours a year – almost an entire 24-hour day every week. What style of training do you like most and what do you like least?
I like to be outside and just be in the mountains – that's the best training for me. And what I do least – in fact, not at all unless I’m injured – is gym or indoor training.
You seem to have no fear, but Ueli Steck’s untimely passing (the great speed climber died on Everest when Jornet was planning his own speed climb) must have been a reality check. How did it change you?
I do have fear, and it’s very important to have that. Fear is what makes you stop the day that you see that it can be dangerous.
Unfortunately, I’ve had close people who've died in mountain accidents and even though we know that's part of the game, when it happens it hits hard. When Ueli passed we were in the base camp of the Cho Oyu before heading to Everest. When I arrived in Everest I decided to go through the traditional route instead of going through a much harder route, which was what I first had in mind. I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.
What's the secret to running and climbing so fast?
One thing that's important is that when descending, relax, lose fear and move forward, just as if you were dancing! In general you need to learn to know the mountain and learn how to interact with it. I was born and raised there, and have spent many years out in the mountains as part of my daily routine. That's why I probably have more experience in some circumstances.
It’s been tough for you recently, yet you won the Marathon du Mont-Blanc then smashed the Bob Graham Round record a week later. How did you do that?
I’ve had a strange year. Last October I had surgery on both shoulders from an old injury, then in February I started to compete, but almost immediately I broke my fibula. The recovery has gone well and I did a lot of exercises to try to help. I guess my body is used to this. It’s what I’ve done all my life. I felt very good in the Mont Blanc marathon, and so that’s why I decided to try the Bob Graham.
You mix speed running, speed climbing and vertical ski mountaineering. What attracts you to each type of discipline?
I like to do a lot of different things. Ski mountaineering is what I started with and I like it because it’s fun and also technical. In the last few years, I’ve also been enjoying step ski, which is way more technical and engaging. And running is what I do when I cannot ski!
What is the biggest challenge you've faced?
The period I trained the most in my life, last year, before heading to Everest. I exposed myself to pretty hard situations in the mountains because I wanted to feel comfortable when I went to the Himalayas and I wanted to be able to deal with difficult moments on the mountain.
Your Everest double summit was incredible – what emotions did you go through during the two climbs?
Excitement, just before starting the climb; fatigue, when I reached the summit and realised I still had to go down; and relief when I got lost and found my way back again.
You fell just short of the speed record – but your close friend Seb Montaz said you could go 30-40 percent quicker. Do you agree? And will you do it again?
I don’t know. It really depends on the conditions and how you’re feeling on the day of the attempt. I really don’t know if I could go faster. At the moment I don’t plan on doing it again though, because there are so many mountains left to explore.
What more is there left to achieve? What projects do you have lined up?
Every time I get to the summit of a mountain, I see others behind that I want to explore! That's what's left to achieve: countless mountains...