Kilian Jornet is a multiple ski mountaineering world champion and alpinist, and has also been described as the world’s greatest runner. But he says it’s just an excuse to be in the mountains.
Jornet is currently working on ”Summits Of My Life” (summitsofmylife.com), a 3-year project in which he and his team intend to run the length of the world’s greatest mountain ranges, trying to climb and descend some of the most spectacular mountains in the world as quickly as possible, culminating with Mount Everest in 2015.
Tragically, during an attempt to break the ski-traverse record of Mont Blanc in June, Jornet’s partner Stéphane Brosse suffered a fatal fall, but Jornet has vowed to continue the project in his memory.
- So are you trail runner or ski mountaineer?
KJ> I am a trail runner, I am ski mountaineer, I am an alpinist, but first I am just a person who loves the mountains. I spend every day in the mountains. I feel I’m at home in the mountains.
- Why the special bond?
KJ> I love it because the landscape is amazing and full of challenges, but I think the mountains give a lot back. Humans are animals and when you are in the mountains, you feel that you are nothing. And when you are nothing, you have everything to discover. You feel that you are really small and that’s important to know. But I also love to race, to go fast – to go “Yeah!”
- Your race schedule is pretty busy.
KJ> I do 45 races a year. My year is split between ski-mountaineering in winter, and trail running in summer. I get to spend just 1½ months at my home in Chamonix as I’m always travelling!
- And what is your training plan?
KJ> I train twice a day, 3–5 hours in the morning, 1–2 hours in the afternoon, 20–30 hours per week. I don’t measure the distance, but record the altitude – between 16,000m and 23,000m a week.
- What’s your favourite bit of gear?
KJ> The Suunto Ambit is important as I don’t plan before training, and I don’t know where I’m training the next week. But the Ambit allows me to see what I’ve done and control my training. The GPS watch is really useful for logging kilometres and recording altitude.
- How young were you when you started?
KJ> I did my first 3000m peak when I was 3-years-old! When I was aged 8 years, I spent 15 hours in the mountains with my mother without food and water. I have conditioned my body to endure long distances from an early age!
- How will you tackle Everest?
KJ> We will avoid the normal route and try to find a different route where we can be alone – maybe the Norton or Hornbein Couloirs. But nothing is confirmed.
- Tell us about the new book, Run or Die.
KJ> I wrote it last year and it’s a new experience for me. At first I told my editor that I’m too young to write a biography, but I wrote about some of my sensations and feelings when I run, and why I run. Every chapter records a different experience in the mountains, not just racing. I wrote it in Catalan and it’s been translated into four languages, but so far only the first chapter is out in English on my blog (kilianjornet.cat/en/blog).
- What is your ultimate goal?
KJ> My main goal, like everybody, is to be happy. To be happy for me is to be in the mountains – and to push myself in the mountains.
