Photo: Courtesy of Kilian Jornet
Kilian Jornet, a 29-year-old Spanish climber and ultrarunner, completed what is thought to be a record ascent of Mt. Everest this week when he reached the summit in 26 hours without the help of supplemental oxygen or ropes.
“Up to 7,700m I felt really good and was making progress as planned but then I started to feel unwell, probably from stomach virus,” he said in a statement. “From then on I made slow progress and had to keep stopping to recover. I finally reached the summit at midnight.”
Jornet is an insane athlete who knows how to live and thrive in the pain room. He was profiled in Outside magazine in 2014, and has set speed records on Europe’s Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn, Alaska’s Denali, as well as Aconcagua (Argentina) and Kilimanjaro (Tanzania). All are part of his “Summits of My Life” project.
And he wants to go after Mt. Everest again this season, possibly on the same trip as he reportedly recovers from his last summit. Renowned mountaineer Adrian Ballenger, who ran into Jornet during his own attempt on Everest, posted on Facebook about a conversation he had with the Spaniard regarding a second go: “He thinks he can do it faster and hopes to recover in time to make another attempt before this season ends.”
