Matterhorn Record - Kilian Jornet

Kilian Jornet, arguably the finest mountain athlete of his generation and, likely, in history recently set a new standard for up and down the Matterhorn's Lion Ridge, the shortest route on the iconic mountain's main ridges. He started and finished from the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia, ascending in 1:56 and finishing in 2:52. 

The Lion Ridge, while being the shortest is also considered the most difficult of the "trade" routes, weighing in at 5.3 while using the ample fixed ropes along the way. Jornet spent several weeks living in his van at the base of the mountain, sussing out the route and strategizing his ultimate attempt. He was accompanied at times by the previous record holder, Bruno Brudod, who offered considerable advice to Jornet and even ran with him near the summit during his record shattering go. Brunod's record fell by nearly 20 minutes.

For those of you who don't recognize his name, Jornet has been dominating mountain running and skimo racing for several years now, seemingly unbeatable when he's having a good day. He has turned his attention to the greater ranges of the world, intent on making his mark on the globe's highest points by applying his considerable skill, talent and fitness to the task of setting records everywhere. He also sets his sights on various other crossings and standards like the Lake Tahoe circumnavigation, Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon, a little run across Corsica and anything else that seems interesting to him and can be done on foot. Barring him falling off something, Kilian, at 26 years of age, will be entertaining us with his super human antics for years.

Jornet is heavily sponsored making his ambitions attainable and delivering on the investment at every turn. He isn't just a runner and tackles moderate technical terrain with obvious comfort, using lightweight equipment to scamper over ice and rock where others would be in heavy alpine boots and gear. His speed and fluidity boggles the mind.

This video demonstrates Jornet's speed up and down the section on the Matterhorn that traverses near the hut. The helicopter hovers for the entire ascent, documenting the effort for future film projects and verification. It's hard to imagine the same attention being given an athlete running up and down Long's Peak in Colorado or the Grand Teton in Wyoming. I can already hear the howls of protest from others standing by with a helicopter so close. Never gonna happen in the States. But Europeans celebrate this kind of athleticism and I, for one, applaud the coverage. It's only for a couple of hours, afterall. 

I can already hear some criticizing the use of the heavy fixed lines on the route. This is simply the style in which the mountain is often climbed, at least on the trade routes, and Jornet is following suit. His go on the famous Innominata Ridge on Mont Blanc may appeal more to the purists out there and demonstrates his daunting versatility on a variety of alpine terrain.

Tony Krupicka and Kilian on the summit of the Grand TetonAt only 26 years of age, barring he doesn't fall off something, Kilian will be entertaining us for years with his antics in the mountains and will likely set the standard for the next generation of super humans. Follow him at his blog, http://www.kilianjornet.cat/en/blog.

Comments

[James]

He's juicin'.

[Brian]

Hard to really know James. Having spent time with the man it's easy for me to believe that he's clean and is simply the once-in-a-generation athlete I think he is. But there's little testing in his world and, as we know, drug testing is pretty useless for the savvy user. For now, I don't need to hate on him because I love watching what he does and I simply like him as a person.

On the other hand, trollers are gonna troll.